


Kaleidoscope

by Ennessee



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2018-04-16 21:24:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 50,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4640709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ennessee/pseuds/Ennessee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Shay had never left the Brotherhood and had instead embarked on a perilous adventure side by side with one of the most feared Templar Grandmasters of all times in a desperate attempt for redemption? Would there be a chance for peace, and even.... love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is another story about AC Rogue, a what-if mostly. I really appreciated Hope's character and I wish there had been more of her in the game! I am convinced that there was something going on between her and Shay. This fic is mainly based on their relationship and how things might have been if Shay hadn't left the Assassins.
> 
> If you enjoyed, please leave a comment, I really appreciate it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a story about AC Rogue, a what-if mostly. I really appreciated Rogues' characters even if little space was given to them in the game! In this fic we will see much more of the Assassins as well as *almost* everyone's favourite Templar... guess who he is...(!) and even take a closer look at Shay's relationship with Hope, which could eventually (but not necessarily) lead to romance or to heartbreak. 
> 
> I am always opened for suggestions and corrections. Also, needless to say, I love to get feedback, it really makes me happy! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Life is a kaleidoscope of possibilities. Without acknowledging it, every movement, every gesture is fatal in deciding what is to become of us.

I did not know what miracle saved me from destruction, from throwing myself down that cliff. Maybe the spirit of the world had pity of me at last, and decided to spare me yet another suffering. I will never know.

* * *

 "You are out of your minds!" I screamed in rage, blinded by anger and fear. Why wouldn't anyone listen to me? I reported a terrible mistake, a failure, and all I got was more blame heaped on my already weak shoulders.

That February night was not only freezing, but also forsaken by God. And now, like if what had happened in Lisbon hadn't been enough suffering for a dozen lifetimes, my friend Liam looked upon me as a liar. He wouldn't let go of me even though I struggled to break free from his grip.

"That is not the right way to address your superiors, Shay. I know that what you have seen in Lisbon was terrible, but we have to reason about it with a cold mind." he said once he managed to drag me out in the parlour. "You need to chill out. Tomorrow morning we will gather the council and talk about the matter" he finished, and let go of me.

Behind his rough touch and rushed words, I sensed his eyes looking at me with understanding mixed with pity and a sense of... fear. The damage was done, though, and instead of further analysing the situation I decided that he was making a fool out of me.

"What should I care about disrespect now? Thousands have fallen because of that damn artefact!" I yelled, drawing the attention of a small group of guards that stood nearby. I regarded them with a ferocious grow until they looked away, then I focused again on Liam. "Well?" I snapped, "aren't you going to reproach me now? I am being disrespectful towards you as well!"

"It is all right, Shay. It is all over now" said Liam gently, as if what I had just said was not meant to hurt him.

"It is not _all right._ I swear to God, you are the worst slimy scum that lives on this Earth!"

"I might be, but spelling it out loud in front of the Brotherhood won't bring the dead back"

I shook my head in disbelief. My anger was quickly subsiding to guilt and grief. Even though I meant every word of what I said, I had to admit that during those long weeks at sea, my temper had developed in a very unstable way and a trivial matter could trigger anger bursts or a sense of desolation with uncommon speed.

How could I be so self-centred? I looked towards the house, from which Hope's voice was rising, her hurried words barely understandable. Suddenly, I thought that things could never go back to the way they were before. There was no escape route for me, no hope of redemption, no coming back. Submerged by the acknowledgement of it and by the strength of my emotions, I bowed my head.

'No... I have to be strong' I repeated to myself as I struggled to hold my tears back.

"It is not all right" I whispered, "It cannot be erased. Death cannot be erased" I hid my face in my hands and let tears stream down my cheeks silently.

"Don't cry, Shay. Please" my friend pleaded, and I sensed the weakness in his own voice. He had almost never seen me cry, and I had been determined not to, not now. However, hearing his friendly voice made me burst into desperate sobs. After all I had all the reason in the world to, didn't I?

Immediately, Liam stepped forward and closed me into a tight brotherly embrace. I leaned on his shoulder and vented all the desperation of the past weeks. I felt so exhausted that shame did not matter any longer.

After a while, I regained control of myself and detached from him. Patrols and recruits had vanished from the area, leaving only snowy prints as a sign of their former presence. The whole valley seemed devoid of any life with its ghostly silence and dimly-lit fires, with cold penetrating not only walls and roofs, but also the deepest corners of men's souls.

"Sorry" I said simply.

"Don't be" Liam replied, taking me in his arms again. This time, though, his grip was stronger, too strong for an embrace.

"Please, let me go. I can't bear this" The situations felt quite embarrassing considering that we had never been that close physically.

His grip did nothing but tighten, and I suddenly realised that his intentions went beyond providing solace for me. Like any good Assassin would do with a target in dire waters, he was applying pressure to my neck.

"What...?" I managed to say before my lungs failed me. I gasped, desperate for some air, but my throat was sealed.

'I wonder what he intends to do with me' Once realised it was too late to do anything, and I let darkness engulf me.

* * *

 

The first thing that I noticed when I regained consciousness was the smell. It was the essence of flowers and wood. The air itself had a clean, pure aroma.

'It cannot be my room' I thought as I slowly opened my eyes.

"Where am I?" I asked, but there was no one there with me. Slowly, I sat up in the bed and looked towards the window.

It was clear that I was still on the Manor's grounds, but the side of the house I had been brought to had a quite different view from the one I was used to. Whereas most rooms on the ground floor I was admitted into faced the training area, the bedchamber I was in now had a beautiful view on the surrounding hills. Judging from the shining sun outside, I must have slept through the night and most of the following day. Nothing quite like a sleepers hold to get rid of nightmares.

Again, my focus moved on the current situation. Still dumb with sleep and confusion, I let my eyes linger on the refined wooden furniture and finally on the door.

"I wonder if it is locked"

Slowly, I climbed out of bed and took into consideration my possibilities to flee. The situation looked bad enough: my neck still hurt for the rough treatment of the previous evening, let alone the head. Furthermore, the long scar on my leg I had acquired while fleeing from the earthquake had opened again and blood was lazily pouring out when I moved. Finally, I was standing in nothing but my sleeping trousers. I didn't have a chance to face the snowstorm outside.

As I was lost in thoughts about my surroundings, I heard steps coming from the corridor. They were silent yet determined, and there was only one person who moved around the house that way...

... 'it must be Hope'.

I rushed under the sheets and covered myself. My heart began to pound in my chest as the door opened.

'Just in time. Another couple of seconds and she'd find me half-naked'. Not that it mattered that much. I imagined she had already seen a man's bare chest as she sometimes took care to seal wounds. I did not like the though much, but there was nothing I could do anyways.

As I had imagined, the door had been locked. I heard the click of the keys and then a strong smell of coffee wafted to my nose.

"Don't think I haven't heard you wandering around" she said somehow coldly.

"I was not" I said, puling the bed sheet up until my chin in a silly attempt to cover my ten-days unshaven face I suddenly felt ashamed of.

"You'd better not"

"Where am I?"

"This is my room, on the third floor of the Homestead. There is no way for you to escape, unless you like having broken ribs and a limp for the rest of your life" She gestured towards the window, and I sighed in amused frustration. "Liam brought you here. You were sleeping like a baby" she said with a small mocking grin.

"Hey! I was not _sleeping_. And I can't believe Liam carried me up the stairs like a bride" I said, sitting up in the bed and smiling to her.

But the bliss was not destined to last long. Memories of the previous night flooded my mind and brought me back to reality.

Had Liam known all along what I had planned to do as soon as I was left on my own? The thought itself made me feel giddy and nauseous. I fell beck and crawled under the cover. I did not want to risk another breakdown.

"He did. He cares about you a great deal" she said simply. She moved near the bed and she sat on a side.

I did not answer.

"I have brought you breakfast" she said after a small while.

I nodded, still giving my back to her. Truth be told, I had never thought I was going to have another breakfast, or to see another day. Now I suddenly felt ashamed of that.

"Do you believe me, Hope?" I suddenly asked.

"What are you talking about?" she said, moving away from me. I spotted uneasiness in her voice.

"I heard you discussing with Achilles last night"

"And I heard you wailing in pain. Do you believe me so insensible, Shay?" she said, looking straight into my eyes.

"You shoved me out of the room"

" You came in shouting. After all those months, you threw yourself in the room with such harsh words and accusations against us. You know how proud I am. We all are. What did you expect us to do?"

"You could have told me that you believed me"

She sighed. "I don't know what to believe, Shay. Until you are in the conditions to tell us what precisely happened, no one is going to be sure about anything".

She walked towards the door. A moment before touching the knob, she turned to look at me.

"I know you didn't lie, Shay. I had no reason not to. Nor do the others"

This time she did not lock the door.


	2. A Step Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a new chapter. I hope you enjoy this! Thank you for all the nice comments, they have been really appreciated! :)

“The Assassin Council is bound to start any minute now” said a familiar voice. I startled, sitting up in bed straight.

“Liam” I said with a sleepy voice.

“Yeah. You’d better dress up” he finished, throwing a handful of balled clothes on the bed. I recognized my robes and I quickly hurried to put them on.

If I had said that I was not nervous, I would have lied. Truth be told, I felt my body tense with every step I took.  Those quiet hours I had been granted hadn’t been enough to make me form a plan the case the Assassins had decided not to believe my story.

‘I don’t stand a chance to go back to a more normal sort of life. Not after what happened’ I thought as I climbed down the stairs, ‘and then, I don’t have a single friend that is not an Assassin. There is definitively no going forward that way’.

I had reached the ground floor now, and I considered myself lucky that Hope had deactivated the traps she was so famous for. Some said that they were scattered all over the third floor of the Homestead and that she kept them more for fun that for actual use. Why the Mentor let her do that, nobody knew. He actually allowed her more than he had ever allowed anyone else.

Right now, though, I was partially relieved by the fact that I hadn’t been spied upon and that my comrades had showed that they still trusted me.

“All right. Time to face it” I said out aloud as I pressed the candelabrum which revealed the entrance to the secret meeting room.

The door opened with a click, and soon I found myself looking at the red velvet carpet that covered every inch of the floor. I stepped down carefully, trying to avoid the looks of those already seated around the large round table.

I took my seat between Hope and John without hesitation. My friend had heard what had happened and gave me a sympathetic smile. Hope, though, seemed focused on a straight point in front of her.

“Brothers. Sisters” began the Mentor, and we all stood up to repeat the tenants of the Creed, just like we did every time such a meeting was gathered. This time, though, our leader gestured us to sit back to our places.

“We all know why we are here” he said with gravity in his voice. He looked furtively at me, but there was no suspicion in his eyes. They had returned kind and patient, and I felt relieved for that.

Having gained a little faith, I stood up and took a deep breath to narrate my story. It was a poignant moment: everyone’s eyes were pointed at me, and there was a solemn air about the room. However, I never got the chance to begin.

“We indeed do! This _pomme de terre avec le visage de un cochon d’Inde_ [This potato with the face of a Guinea pig] has torn to pieces all the work we have done in these past years!” yelled Chevalier, jumping up from his chair and slamming and hand roughly on the table with such fury that an inkpot spilled its black content on the white tablecloth.

“Sit down, Chevalier” said calmly Achilles, not showing any sign of anger on his face. He was also the only one that knew French well and hence had understood the offence. I simply growled.

“It seems nobody is interested” I commented, pointing a finger against Chevalier, “I came back with news and all you have done has been insulting me!” I spat.

“We are sorry, Shay. Please go ahead and tell us everything you have seen. Nobody will interrupt” said Hope sweetly, looking at me encouragingly.

So I did. I told then everything, from top to bottom, beginning from the description of the temple to the destruction around me.

“... And then I came back here, furious with the world. It is true, I should have never have attacked you like that. I shouldn’t have accused anyone. But... do you understand now? Can you see why I did it?”After having spoken these words, I sat back, relieved that is was over. My throat felt dry and the world around me span slightly. All I wanted was to crawl in bed again and sleep for another couple of hours.

“But you brought us no proof that you were ever in the Temple. That you did not destroy the Apple” said Kasegowase.

“There is nothing left of the Temple. You have heard Shay. It came crumbling down” said Hope patiently.

“About the Apple though” began Liam, “how come it was destroyed? We have records of Assassins that managed not even to touch the thing, but even activated it!” he looked at me with a strange look, as if he was assuming that there was something not quite clear about the whole matter.

“This can be simply solved. Could you please describe this ... ‘Apple’ out aloud, Shay?” when I heard Hope’s voice again, my heart began to beat faster.So someone _believed_ me!

“It was a black thing. Angular. It shone brightly and there were strange symbols carved all over it... “ I went on, drawing a picture of it with my words.

“That does not sound like it at all” said John, “wasn’t this artefact supposed to be golden?” he turned towards me, “didn’t it... produce a sound when you touched it?”

“No. No sound at all”

My conclusion caused silence to fall heavily on the room.

“Well? Are we supposed to believe this brainless sailor or are we going to prove this matter by ourselves?”

“Shut the f**k up, Chevalier!” exclaimed Liam. This time it was him to punch the table, and he did it so hard that I startled. One of the ‘golden rules’ was not to swear in front of the council. And now my friend usually obsessed with rules and Assassin traditions, had just broken that code. I gasped in surprise thinking about it.

By my side, Hope noticed this sudden movement and she looked at me. I ignored it, pretending not to have noticed her eyes on me. Suddenly, just when I convinced myself that she was about to turn her head and direct her attention to the arguing group of Assassins, I felt her hand on mine.

I caught my breath and then exhaled. But her hand was still there.

It felt so little, and so much colder than mine. For a long moment, her thumb brushed my index, as if that little gesture could have erased all my discomfort and hurt. I moved my own thumb to caress her hand, her little, tiny, gracious yet lethal hand. The contact with her skin filled me with warmth and faith.

“Listen, everyone” said the Mentor in the end. He had barely spoken, but his voice had the effect of a gunshot. Hope retreated and I missed her touch immediately.

“We have a priority, now. If what Shay says is true – and I am more than convinced that it is-, then I owe you my apologies.

He looked straight into my eyes, and I nodded. How could I have denied him my forgiveness when he had so often closed an eye over my failures?

“Secondly, I have something to communicate to you. When Adèwale came over a few years ago, as you can recall, we all set all our forces in motion to find the manuscript and the Box as soon as possible. Many of you- most of you haven’t questioned my choices. Now I must confess to you that there was reason to such haste”

“You know about the Manuscript all along, didn’t you?” said John somehow sheepishly. He could be rather inappropriate at times.

“No, John. I decided to focus on the Manuscript because I tried to avoid something that has happened anyways, and I am afraid cannot be reversed”

“What is it?” I asked, anxiety growing with every passing moment inside of me. With the corner of my eye I spotted Liam, who was nodding slowly. He was the one to answer.

“The Templars have a copy of the Manuscript. But this is not the worst of it. A new Templar Grandmaster his coming to the colonies, with big plans hovering about his head. His name is Haytham Kenway and they say he is carrying a Precursor amulet which could open up a secret chamber in the heart of the forest, down in the frontier”

“But... that chamber could be another Temple!”

“And we would be his next victims”

 

 


	3. Rest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I hope you’ve had a fine week :) For those of you who are already back in school... well, good luck!  
> There is a reason I have delayed to update this week: I have taken some time to draw Shay and Liam’s room (which appears in this chapter). If you are interested, you can click on the link I have posted down here which will lead you my Tumblr account. Please take some time to check it out!  
> Enjoy!
> 
> (http://ennessee.tumblr.com/post/128277323922/this-is-how-i-imagine-shay-and-liams-room-i-drew)

We left the room silently. No one felt like speaking, and questions seemed useless at this point.

‘I hate the Precursors’ I decided. It was all their fault, if my life was such a mess. To worsen things, I felt no desire to collaborate with the Assassins any further. The only question was: did I have a choice?

“Shay. Can I have a word?”

I turned slowly. “My neck is still aching, Liam” I said with a certain degree of irritation in my voice.

“I know.  I am sorry” he said simply, and we both remained silent for a while.

 It was very cold outside today, but I preferred it to the warm cup of tea I had been offered in the Manor’s kitchen, where everybody’s eyes would be pointed on me.  

“You should return inside” I said at last.

“I need to keep an eye on you”

I turned my face away to hide the blushing on my cheeks. So he did know after all. “You are only willing to freeze your arse” I replied.

He laughed. “Think of it as you wish”. There was some more silence, but it felt easier now. This was Liam’s way of apologizing: quiet, almost hidden. It was during moments like this that I reminded myself that I could never replace with anyone.

“Well, it is _my_ arse that is getting cold right now” I said.

“Stop saying ‘arse’. Anyone could hear you”

“You’re a pain in the arse, Liam”

He sighed, but I could tell he was amused. “And you are as much fun as a sea urchin in the arse”

“Arse”

“Arse” repeated my friend.

“Is something wrong?” asked a voice behind our backs. We both startled and turned towards the door.

“Mentor!” stammered Liam, torn between laughter and embarrassment.

“You should take shelter. A blizzard is about to come” he simply said. His face was unreadable. There was no way we could say if he had heard us.

Once the older Assassins closed the door behind his back, I began to laugh.

“You should look at your face, Liam!” I exclaimed. He had turned white.

“Nothing fun about that” he said, but his lips were already parting in a grin.

“I was surprised Achilles didn’t collapse from a heart attack!”

The Mentor never, ever told swear words. Whenever he heard some of his subordinates make passionate use of them, he would smack them on the nape with the hilt of his dagger and force them to extra turns of cleaning up. Just our luck the situation softened his will.

No, wait. I make my own luck.

“Come now, let’s head back home. You need a decent shaving”

* * *

 

About twenty minutes later I was standing in front of the mirror in the room I shared with Liam. We lived, like most of the Assassins working on the Manor’s grounds, in the house block not too far from the stables. The place was constantly bursting with activity: people running in and out, slamming doors, laughing and playing cards or any type of board game. During the last period, however, most of the Assassins had gone home to visit their families, so the place was relatively quiet.

Our room had been heated in our absence. The fire popped and danced in around the logs in the chimney. It almost looked like a normal day. Liam was sitting on his bed, which  was near to the fire. When I had first arrived and moved in with him, he had offered me that warm spot, but I had refused. He had always suffered from terrible pains in the back and he needed heat in the winter.

“You haven’t moved my things” I said while spreading soap on my cheeks.

“I had no reason to” he commented. Liam as he rearranged his two pillows with a book opened on his lap.

“I thought the first thing you did after choking me was throwing my stuff away, so that you would never have to see me again” I tried to sound casual, but there was some discomfort in my voice.

“I can’t deny I have been tempted in the past, especially when you sneaked in and out at night and I had to pretend I was asleep. But no.”

I remained silent. Despite the fact that my mood had considerably improved, I didn’t feel like joking.

Without paying too much attention, I dragged the knife’s blade on the soft skin of my face. The hair came out without resistance, leaving a clean patch of skin.

“I need a shave too” said Liam casually, and then I saw his eyes looking at me through the mirror. “Shay?”

“Yes?” I looked behind my shoulders. He had got up and was now coming towards me.

“What is the matter?” I asked.

Without a word, he snatched the blade from my hand and took the clean towel resting on the chair nearby. Then, to my surprise, he roughly brushed it on my cheek.

“Hey!” I shouted, bringing a hand to my face, “That hurts!”

He stepped back, still with the blade in his hand.

“You have cut yourself”

I looked in the mirror. And there it was, a red gush on the soft skin on my face. Blood was already pouring out and I hurried to clean it.

“It was an accident”  

Liam looked at me with an inquisitively, as if he doubted me.

“You should pay more attention. Hope might not like it if you left a scar on your face”

 “What?” I exclaimed in disbelief. The knife slipped from my hand “that is not even funny. Your jokes are outdated, Liam”

“I saw it. How sweet, you held hands” his voice was calm, plain, devoid of any emotion.

For a long moment, I simply stared at him. He was not judging me, but I could sense tension in his voice.

“It’s none of your business” I said in the end, then I took the knife and I focused on my shaving again.

“No, maybe it is not. But I must warn you. Hope is not one of the whores you bring here at times...”

“I know it already!” I snapped, “and they are not whores. You speak as if you don’t do it either, when you think I am not looking...”

I saw him blush. “I haven’t said that there’s something wrong with it. Take a woman to bed, I mean”

“...but? What is wrong, then?”

“Hope is a strong woman in many senses. But we both know she is fragile when it comes to ... relationships. I don’t think that embarking on a relationship with you, or any man for the matter is a good idea” he said.

“And what makes you think I would? We’re just friends” I replied looking at him straight in the eye.

“Yeah, and God knows if you’d like better. Take it as an advice, Shay: don’t mistake her brotherly affection towards you for something more. There can be no such things among Master Assassins. More so if you consider she is a leader”

“Really? Well, let me tell you something: only because your relationship with... what was her name? Theodore? Well, just because she left you and you felt miserable about it doesn’t mean that there can be no such thing such as liking a lady, and eventually be liked back” I snapped. Instantaneously, my friend’s face was disfigured by rage.

“How dare you, you fool!” he shouted, gripping the table in front of him with such force that his knuckles turned white. For a moment, I saw it on his face: his will to flee the room and forget what I had just said. The next moment, his sense of duty forced him to sit down and take a deep breath. He turned the chair to face the opposite side of the room with his back turned at me.

He didn’t trust me yet. If even this painful topic which usually made him lose his temper hadn’t worked, then there was no way he would have left me alone.

The kettle began to chug.

I kept shaving pretending that nothing had happened. In my deepest, however, I felt like an ungrateful, cruel little brother. What else could I have done, though? I didn’t want to face him on the matter of my feelings for Hope.

Liam knew me as well he knew himself. Of course he had noticed my furtive and intense glances to her whenever she passed nearby, and how my cheeks flushed when she showed up in something other than her Assassin robes. Until now, however, he had never gone further than mock me. And now I had brought up a painful chapter in his life, one he had desperately trying to forget. God knew if he was going to forgive me any time soon.

‘Silly me. I shouldn’t have let her go’ I brought my hands to my nose and inspired. Even though I had just washed myself, I was sure I could _feel_ her smell. It was like her essence had penetrated my skin and was now warming my whole body up.

Inside my mind, I it was clear. I was totally and without a doubt in love with Hope Jensen.

 

Later that evening, Liam disappeared only to come back carrying dinner.

“I am sorry about before” I said simply. I got up from my bed and headed towards the fire. “I will heat up some water. You have missed your tea”

“No need” he replied.

We had been silent the whole afternoon and now the atmosphere was rather gloomy.

He filled my glass with a drink. “You’ve been a total asshole. Now we are even”

“I am sorry. I did not want to hurt you”

He didn’t reply. We ate our meal in silence and he made sure I drank enough to feel talkative at the end of the meal.

We spent a long time talking. After I told him all about Lisbon, he updated me on how miserable he had felt after our quarrel. After about an hour, I was drunk enough to answer his questions, and he was to answer mine.

“I still think about her, you know. At times” he said, and I knew who he was referring to.

“She was heartless” I said

“She had a brain”

“I cannot believe you are still defending her after what she has done” I commented. I did not risk using her name. Anything related to Theodore had to be handled with care.

Liam sighed and rested his back against the wall. We were both sitting on the floor, warm cups of tea in our hands.

“You know how much it hurt. I don’t want the same happening to you”

“It wouldn’t”

“Do you love her?” he asked, looking straight at me.

“I really like her” I replied.

“Liking someone might not be enough. Furthermore, you cannot know if she loves you back of if she’s just being friendly. Hope would never confess her feelings”

“I know” I said, but the words hurt me. I could feel a light sting in my stomach as I pronounced them.

“I’ve always known you fancied her” he said with a small smile.

“I am in love with her. I can’t stop thinking about her. I would take her in my arms and lull her pain away. But she is so complicated” I sighed deeply, “She’s not like any other woman”

“She isn’t. Can I ask you something, Shay? Why didn’t you ever talked to me about this?” he asked. He looked curious, but I knew there was more than just curiosity.

“I was afraid you would sneer at me and remind me that I am her subordinate. Like you did, as a matter of fact”

“Sorry about that. But you are right: as soon as I sober up I will indeed do it again. I don’t think I can support you in this, Shay, but I can’t abandon you either. You are my friend, before being my undisciplined, always-late-pupil”

 “I am not sure I want to talk about this right now” I concluded, kicking my shoes off and getting ready to go to bed. “What about you? Any new conquest?” I asked. This time my question was rather casual. Somehow, it didn’t matter as much as it did just a couple of months before. Women and adventures looked as if they belonged to a faraway life. At least for now.

“No, and I have no intention to. No long term relationship, at least not for another couple of years”

“You are wed to the Creed, right?”

He laughed. “Not exactly”

I got under the sheets.  “So pass on the other shore. I hear there are charming boys out there. Sorry, I am not available”

“Aha, Shay. Very funny” he commented, but he did not sound amused.

“What is wrong with that? Gregor fancies boys, and I am perfectly all right with that”

“I haven’t said there’s anything wrong with it. Quite the contrary in fact: he has all the right to share his life with whoever he wants. I have no right to judge. ”

“I heard Chevalier...”

“Chevalier is a married man”

“I know. I was just kidding”

“Well, hold your tongue. If he hears you, he’ll be sure to make you pay for that” he lowered snuffed the candle and the room was engulfed by total darkness.

“Are you going to tell her?” I asked after a while. I was referring to Hope, of course.

“No, I am not”

“Please don’t. She wouldn’t like to hear it from you”

“I know. Now let’s go to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day. We have to track down this new Templar Grandmaster, if he is arrived to the colonies already, or otherwise make sure we sink his ship before he docks”

“Goodnight, then” I said, cursing the Manuscript under my breath.

“Goodnight” said my friend.

I looked at the last burning embers in the fireplace and for a moment I wondered if I looked like that to the other Assassins. Someone who had given up, how was letting pain submerge him. I could not allow that to happen. Right then, I decided that I had to change. Shay Cormac was about to leave his youth behind and become a true Assassin.

“And... Shay?” Liam’s voice came rather unexpected.

“Yes?”

“Hope is a strong woman. I... I just wanted you to know: right after you came back, when she saw you like that ...   she cried”


	4. The Way the Waves Crash

The following day I woke up early. Even though my intention was that of dressing up quickly and get even with the work that I had been neglecting while away, I didn’t manage to get up from the bed. The sun hadn’t risen completely yet, and the little light that came from the window played nasty tricks on the walls. Those shadows haunted me. Since the earthquake, I could recognize fallen buildings and dead bodies in those shapeless heaps of darkness. Hence I squeezed my eyes shut and waited in agony for the sun to rise.

“Good morning” greeted small group of Assassins when I got downstairs.

“To you as well” I replied, taking my usual seat. I tried to avoid everyone’s eyes –especially Hope’s- while I ate.

“Stop being such a barbarian, Shay” joked James, one of my inner circle “use fork and knife for your egg”

“I am using this crust of bread. Hardly makes a difference”

“It does”

“Gosh, James. Stop teasing him!” laughed John.

We used to call them the Double-J team. Even though they looked very different, they felt like brothers.

James has darkish skin and a scar crossing half of his face, from the the left nostril to the right side of the chin. It was a token of his courage: he had been wounded by no less than his own father when he had defended himself and his mother from his abuse. He always had a witty comment and a joke to lift up the spirits, and he was so popular among the Assassins that when he came out as ‘being on the other shore’ everyone had put their prejudices and fears aside and treated him as an equal. In our times this is quite a rarity, but we have to thank Achilles for this, because he is liberal and he is above any kind of discrimination, having himself being a victim of foolish beliefs.

John is more the serious type. His father was an Assassin, and after his death he had willingly taken his place. Deep inside he definitively is sweet and shy, but many are deceived by his rough appearance and his deep voice. Sometimes I laugh saying that he is a less refined version of me.

“So what’s the plan for today?” I asked after a while.

“There is something you ought to know” said Liam. I immediately knew from his tone that it was important. “It is about the Templar we mentioned yesterday”

“Haytham Kenway, was it?” asked John.

“Yes. He is on his way here, but what we haven’t told you is that we have a lead on him”

“What do you mean, a lead?”

James stood up and cleared his throat. “I have been following the case. That is, the Italian Assassin Miko has contacted us a few years ago, in 1752 to be precise...” he looked around, his discomfort clearly showing on his face.

“He warned us, saying that this Kenway could potentially come here to the Colonies. Over the last few years, his warnings have become more and more persistent”  
“But... I don’t understand. Why is this man such a big deal? We have dealt with Templars before...”

“We have. But as Miko has said, he is a British Assassin. He has an education, influence, money, and especially, a cunning mind” said Liam. His tone was flat, but his voice severe. The Kenway business must have been pretty serious.

“He is”  carried on James. “As a matter of fact, Miko was right”

“Miko is hardly ever wrong” interrupted Liam.

“He knows him personally” I whispered in John’s ear, alluding to the fact that my best friend was extra-proud of being in contact with other Assassins all over the world. Liam blushed slightly, displeased by my comment, but he gestured  to continue.

“Ladies, please. Be serious” James reproached us. Then he returned serious again. “Kenway _is_ coming to the colonies. He is on his way already.

“What?”

“But that is not all. He has taken passage on a ship called the _Providence_. The choice was quite obvious, considering that the vessel is owned by the Templars themselves. The good news is, the ship is being followed. And by most chance, unless something unexpected happens, we are sure to get this Kenway out of the boat and haul him into the ocean”

For a long moment, no one spoke. I was mute in disbelief: for once, things were going in the right direction.

Then, I saw James taking a small biscuit and biting it. Not a good sign. Was another of his not-infrequent anger outbursts on the way?

 “... and?” I dared to ask. I quickly looked around.

“Miko is dead” said Hope simply. I turned towards her. She hadn’t moved a muscle of her face. As if it was normal, to lose a friend in the midst of a battle.

* * *

I plodded in the fresh snow. My steps were heavy and noisy, but I couldn’t have cared less. All I wanted now was to destroy the Templars, to see their very core shake, their foundations crumble, to have peace. Maybe only then would we be allowed to have a life.

“I would go back in New York. Buy a farm and live a simple, quiet life. Liam would marry that silly girl who left him because he is an Assassins, aka, he kills blokes. We could be neighbours. We could raise our children in peace” I told myself. Every sentence of my thought was accompanied by a knick which sent a small mound of small flying forwards.

Finally, I reached the training area. Nobody had cared to remove the dummies from the snow. Only Hope’s patch of land was clean and tidy. So typical of her.

I bent down. One by one, I collected the training weapons, and then all the other instruments. I couldn’t care less that no one would train with me under the snow. I would have had my exercise anyway.

 _‘I am a new man’_ I repeated myself as I jumped from a tree branch to the next. My breath came out in frozen puffs, and my fingers looked and felt like ice sticks. I allowed myself no rest, no pause until I began to feel tiredness in my legs and my head began to play silly tricks to me. However, just when I had decided to go back inside, I heard a voice behind my back.

“Shay”

“Mentor” there was no surprise in my voice. After all, I had almost waited for him up there. The trees were his domain. I had once thought to be the best one to free run among the branches, but he bested me by far. Trees looked like his natural environment.

“What are you doing here?” he asked with his usual calm, as it if was any other ordinary situation.

“Taking fresh air, that is all” my voice was still a little bit sour, but I was not angry with him.

“Shay. Look at me” he said politely. And then he hushed, and waited for me to turn my back and face him. When I did, he stretched his arm forward and took my hand in his. I felt small in that moment, as if I were the prodigal son coming back home.

We sat there and we talked, discussed even. I asked about the Creed and questioned him. In turn, he answered my doubts and asked me some more questions. He looked so patient, so kind with me, that all my resistance was won. He was a good man after all. He had just made a mistake, a terrible mistake, and now he was trying to redeem himself. Just as I was.

* * *

Some weeks passed.  Hope returned to New York to attend her business. As for the rest, life carried on. We got into a slow routine made mainly of training and little sailing in the nearby islands. We picked Templar leads, but we did nothing concrete besides collecting pieces of information in the months following my return home. I still didn’t feel like myself, but things were coming back to normality. The only thing that disturbed the quiet was the lack of progress in tracking down the alleged copy of the manuscript, which the same William Johnson had made.

Finally, on the fifteenth of March, news came to us. The ship that had been sent after Kenway had been sunk by a terrible tempest that had struck during the voyage. There were no survivors. As a living proof of this stand Haytham Kenway, safe and sound on Boston’s docks. Hope’s men reported his presence, but in the end it was John who was sent to the place to take a look.

“It seems like our Master Kenway has his personal lapdog” were his first words as he sat around the meeting table in the living room of the Manor.

“Charles Lee. He’s a soldier, fighting under General Edward Braddock” said our Mentor.

“So what about him? Where can we find the man?” I asked impatiently.

“He is staying at the Green Dragon tavern, a posh tavern in Boston. Anyway, I highly doubt the man will linger there. As a matter of fact, Hope has communicated to us to join her in the city and encourages us to make haste. We still have to retrieve the chest her agents have subtracted from Johnson. She’s already making her way there”

“I volunteer for the job” I said.

“Very well. Then you and John shall depart at once”.

* * *

The trip from the Homestead to Boston took us almost a day. We choose to go on horseback to stay in incognito, and by the time the profile of the city appeared to the horizon, we were both sore and tired.

“So what about going to the Green Dragon tavern?” I proposed, “It’s not like they could recognise us if we change our clothes”

“That place is the elite. We will never mingle up” replied John, “But I suppose that would be a great chance to eavesdrop their plan, if they have one”

So we did. It didn’t take long to find the inn –it was quite renowned in the city- and once arrived we hid into the stables and changed our clothes. Our civilian outfits were rather casual, but the soft fabric showed off quite a status, enough to make us look rich, and respectable.

And yet, once we set foot inside, we realised that our worries had been useless. The atmosphere was completely different from what we had expected: drunken people shoved each other up and down the stairs; waitresses laughed with their customers and slammed mugs full of ale down the tables. An ordinary tavern. While John moved forward to book ourselves a room, I activated my inner vision and I looked around.

 ‘Nothing suspicious, it seems’ I thought, but then I realised how tired I felt and that my eagle vision might have been somewhat wadded by layers of weariness. Next to me, John’s stomach growled with ferocity.

“Let’s eat something” I said to him, and then I instinctively turned my head back.

And there it was. Even through all the noise and the clattering of plates, that single figure did not escape my notice. It was a boy, no more than nineteen or twenty, I established, who was silently complaining about having finished his coins and the fact that his master said that he had had enough drink. I blinked twice and there it was my golden target.

“Wait, John. Give me some money. I know what I have to do” I said, and without caring to explain I leaped forward and friendly grabbed the young man’s arm.

“Your master must be a twat” I said with a fake blurred voice. “Come, I have drink at my table”

I dragged him into a corner, the most sheltered one, and I got him talking.

His name was Thomas Hickey and he worked for the underworld. I understood immediately by his manners and his way of speaking that that man had little or no self control, and that his morality was highly questionable. He said he was staying at the Green Dragon on behalf of his employer (‘Master Johnson, the cheap one” he had explained), but a few weeks before a man named Haytham Kenway had arrived to the colonies and  he was more intransigent than expected.

“He makes us work very hard” he had sighed, and I had friendly patted on his shoulders, encouraging him to talk further by pouring another drink in his mug. “He wants us to retrieve the chest the Assassins.... I mean, the brigands have stolen from Master Johnson. But the brats have moved it. They said a woman is their leader”

  1. Blood throbbed in my temples. So they knew about Hope.



“A woman? That’s not possible”  
“A woman, I say. She’s due in Boston tomorrow. The Grand Master made sure to wait for her, so that we can kill her in the process of retrieving the chest. She’s a clever one, the bastard. But what she doesn’t know is that we have a little key...” he laughed.

Horrified, I faked a smile. “A key... what kind of key?”

“A key to her back garden” he said. He was giggling hysterically now.  _The Fort’s hidden gates_ , I thought.

“Well, what’s so precious in that chest?” I dared.

Even though drunk, Hickey restrained himself. He slammed a fist on the table. For a moment, I feared of having been discovered.

“I can’t say. Master’s orders” he finally uttered, a monstrous grin distorting his features.

“Sounds precious” I whispered, and he relaxed visibly.

“It is. And do you know what the best part of it all is?”

By the looks of him, I understood it must have been something evil. I understood that I didn’t want to know, but that I had to. So I nodded silently, I my eyes fixed into his.

“Master Lee says he will let me have his way with her, with the lady boss. That we must show these Assassins where they stand”

The world around me begun to spin. Without realising it, it was me this time who slammed the fist on the table.

“Something wrong?” laughed Hickey, his eyes shining with malice.

“What you said... Is not honourable” I whispered, lowering my voice so that only he could hear me, “women must be cherished. You have to woo them, make them love you. To violate a woman... Only the worst scum does that” My hands were shaking, now. I could feel sweat pouring down my forehead, anger beginning to threaten my mental sanity.

He shrugged. “War is war. Anyway, that’s why Master Lee told me to be quiet. He said Master Haytham wouldn’t be happy of that. I’ll have to make the little bitch stay quiet”.

That was too much. I stood up, grabbing Thomas by the neck. “Do try and do it, you bastard, and I will make you die slowly and painfully” I growled onto his face with such ferocity that the group of people around us hushed.

“Problems?” said a voice behind my back.

British accent. Authoritarian tone.

I turned to face Haytham Kenway.

“Just... a little misunderstanding” I said, dropping Hickey on the chair again. I looked at the Templar Grandmaster straight in the eye, and then I turned my back and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.
> 
> CRIME AGAINST WOMEN IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY.
> 
> Violence against women is wrong! Women are not instruments and should never be considered as such! Help to share this message: only united we can build a better world!


	5. Wit Wins it All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is my next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Useless to say, I didn’t sleep at all that night.

I had informed John of what I had learned from Hickey, cutting out the reason of our dissent. My companion had nodded gravely, and then he had remained silent for quite a long moment, pinching his beard with his fingers.

“This ... back door. I had never heard of it, really. We must be sure to ask Hope tomorrow. We don’t have much time, though”

My heart began to beat harder in my chest. “When is she due to arrive?”

“Tomorrow, first thing in the morning” he said, and then he stood up and we made our way upstairs. We didn’t speak anymore that night, but I knew my friend was thinking about our next move. I, too, was very upset by all the commotion of the day, but I forced myself to sleep nonetheless. Leading a life such as ours, it is important to sleep regularly to ensure ourselves energy and alertness for the day to come.

For once, I didn’t have nightmares. I was exhausted to the point that my body felt limp in my sleep and my head floated peacefully in my dreamland. But it was not destined to last.

In the end, it was a cold touch on my forehead to wake me. Instinctively, I sat up in bed and snapped the foreign hand away... only to find out that it was gone already .

“Hope” I murmured, dragging the bed sheaths further up my shoulders.

“Good morning” she whispered. I rubbed my eyes to look at her better, to make sure she was real. And there she was, right in front of me, her hood pulled up to cover her face, with a single lock of hair escaping and making its way on her cheek.  I was so entranced by her sudden apparition that I didn’t notice her leaving a square package on the little table in the corner.

“Let me wake John” she said, moving a step towards his bed.

“No!” I grabbed her wrist, and for a moment she just looked at me, her eyes filling first with disbelief, and then with getting cold again as she retreated from my touch.

“How did you get in here?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

“From the window”

“I thought I had closed it”

“It was easy enough to slid it open”

“What about finding us?”

“Really?” she said, somewhat exasperated, but I could see she was hiding a little grin under her hood, “I could hear your snoring three blocks away from here” she pointed at John, which was actually quite loud in his sleep.

I stifled a laugh, and then I shrugged. For a moment we didn’t say anything. I felt a little embarrassed, and I quite couldn’t find the right words to ease the situation. Finally, it was her who broke the silence.

“I am glad you decided to get your head together and volunteer for the job”.

Hers sounded more like a statement rather than an appreciation.

“I like it, when you treat me like the undisciplined pupil” I replied as she walked towards John’s bed and put an end to his snoring.

“We have much to discuss” were his first words as he opened his eyes.

“Good, John. Don’t you think a ‘good morning’ would be more appropriate?” I joked.

“It is not going to be a good morning until we have wiped that Templar... dirt off this town” he said, and I agreed.

* * *

The sky was still dark outside, so we had to light a candle to see each other in the face. We had sat on the floor, with a map of the town opened right in front of us.

“I couldn’t believe it when then told me you had risked it all by coming here” Hope said.

“It was Shay’s idea, but he had a point” said my companion, and then he proceeded to report the information we had gathered the previous night.

“Do you know anything about this... door?” I asked Hope. She looked puzzled, as if she wasn’t expecting such a question.

“Liam was right. These British Templars _are_ cunning. Yes, I happen to know about it. Only, it is not a door. This Hickey must have been talking about the key which opens the underground gate. How they came in possession of such knowledge, I have no idea. Most people in Boston don’t even know there are underground tunnels”

“How can we remediate?”

“There’s not much we can patch, sadly” she went on, “By this time, the Templars must have made dozens of copies off that blasted key”

“But... I thought the underground was opened to almost anyone”

“It is, at least if you know what you are looking for and how to handle yourself. Some parts of the underground are, however... closed to the public. We had iron fences built around the borders of our underground door so that we can prevent things such as underground infiltrations happening”

“What about the authorities?”

“They count nothing. There are far worse matters in this city than some abusive constructions” she smirked.

I took a deep breath.

“All right. So what do we do now?” I finally asked. I didn’t like the way things were evolving.

Hope stood up and walked to the corner of the room.

“We are a step ahead. And they don’t know it” she said as she delicately laid down Johnson’s chest in front of us.

* * *

We decided to take advantage of the information I had acquired on the previous evening to surprise our target instead of fleeing.  I was the first one to take position: I was stationed on the beam right above the bend to the main gates, so that I could hear my target, but not quite see them unless leaning  forward. I was the one who would have to give the signal to Hope’s man and then strike.

My companions were waiting for me in front of the fort underground’s gates. We couldn’t risk Templar reinforcements penetrating the structure from there.

The fort was not so different from the other forts in the city: it had stout walls, two wooden gates and little stone constructions in the inside. We didn’t usually call it a ‘fort’ since it was used mainly as a deposit and hence lacked the proper defences against foreign attacks.

I felt quite confident: the Templars were sure to triumph thanks to the element of surprise, which I had taken away from them. There was almost nothing to fear. Almost.  So I crouched in my position and waited. It wasn’t the most comfortable of dispositions, but in the end the reward would have been not only success, but a sense of self-gratification and relief when the mission would have proved a success.

There was no precise schedule for the enemies’ arrival, but according to our calculations, they would have not delayed. Carrying out an attack in the middle of a working day is not a very wise strategy. Not even if you are a wealthy Templar who can afford to bribe half the city. Soon enough, my patience was rewarded.

 First, it was no little more than a metallic clinging. Then, it sounded more like something being dragged on the floor. Finally, three rather tall figures came into my view range. Among them, I noticed, there was not the Grandmaster. But... a pray which allured me so much more.

Thomas Hickey.           

“We have to do this quickly. We will kill the guards. Hickey, you sneak in and take the chest. Meanwhile...” began the taller man. He was wearing a long frock coat and his attire revealed that he was the boss.

“No need to spoil the whole thing. We should move up” this time it was Johnson to speak. I recognized his voice from the last time I had heard it.

“Indeed”.

Satisfied with my eavesdropping, I decided it was the time to give the signal. I brought two fingers into my mouth and whistled. The sound seemed that of a bird singing, a signal not recognizable by anyone but those from whom it was meant.

Yet, nothing.  I did it again, making sure to be louder this time, but no one answered.  Below me, the tall man looked around.

‘But I am sure they were here a while ago. They must have been called to the main gates. But why?’ I desperately leaned backward trying to spot something, anything that could confirm the men’s presence down there. Yet, nothing.

My heart skipped a beat. Maybe our intelligence had been wrong. Was it possible that the Templars had organized something bigger this time? And if it was so, were my friends safe?

I had just finished formulating these doubts that a pistol shot reverberated in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you all for your support. It really helped me! Have a good weekend!


	6. Turning Point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here is a new chapter :)   
> I have almost never written action sequences before. As always, corrections and remarks are appreciated. Please leave a comment if you enjoy!

I didn’t waste a single moment. Without caring about being heard or discovered, I jumped down and hurried toward the doors that lead to the stairs and then up in the control tower.

_Locked._

How was that possible? I had ordered to leave the doors ajar so that we could have made it to the top once the deed was done.  The whole locking thing had been done quietly, I reasoned.

Someone must have called Hope’s man up, and specifically ordered them not to warn me. But then, why? I was in charge of them, now.

“What was that?” asked the voice which I recognised belonged to the tall man.

“It is nothing, Charles” said Hickey. “Probably one of them shrieking. They must have realised it by this time” he said, and I swear I knew he was grinning in that moment.

By now, the Templars had begun to walk in my direction. Quickly, I moved aside and hid right behind a heap of tall supply boxes which had been stacked right next to the door.

‘Why?’ I asked myself. ‘Why stack a heap of heavy boxes right next to a door?’ I hadn’t noticed those boxes when I had descended into the fort, but now I recognised something sinister in them.

‘And then, no one would ever put supplies _outside_ a deposit’ I told myself.

“The door looks fine” said Johnson, and in the next instant a metallic noise forced me to cover my ears with my hands. What the hell where they up to?

With sweat pouring down my face, I leaned forward to see what was going on.

All three Templars were right in front of the gates, but they were not interested in opening it. They were  placing a heavy padlock with a chain around the bolt, so that it was now impossible to open it from the inside.

In that precise instant, I felt my nose tickling, a sneeze threatening to start in my throat. Yes, right in my throat, like if I had been breathing a highly irritant dust for the previous couple of minutes. And then it came to my mind.

Those were no supplies. I was standing right in front of two huge barrels of gunpowder.

“Done” said William Johnson. “I will stay here. Put the thing in motion. Thomas, check that no one comes in”

_Trapped._ The word echoed in my mind louder and louder. ‘I need to get out of here’.

I gave myself no time to think: as soon I heard steps approaching my hiding spot, I threw myself in front of a fazed Charles, causing him to lose his balance, and run towards the exit.

I knew that they couldn’t risk shooting at me as a little spark could have set the whole place ablaze. The only thing they managed to do was yelling for help, and a couple of Templar guards came darting in my direction, blocking my way.

Without wasting a single moment, I plunged my hidden blade into the first guard’s neck. He fell to the ground heavily, leaving a trail of blood on the wall as he did so. The second guard hesitated, fearful, and I took advantage of his indecision to resume my escape.

  I was familiar with tunnels and underground passages, having spent half of my childhood sticking my nose there in search of adventure. Before the guard had the time to realise which direction I had taken, I was already climbing my way out. Outside, the cold air prickled my face and made breathing difficult.  At least, I was safe for now. Or so I thought.

Before I had time to catch my breath, a punch in the face knocked the air out of me. It took me a few instants to realise that the man in front of me was not a frightened citizen but a soldier who aimed to kill me.

 “You’re a bloody Templar spy, are you not?” I yelled as he grabbed my forearm in a desperate –and truth be told rather pathetic- attempt to make me trip on my own feet and fall. I easily swapped position by rotating my body, so that my attacker was now standing back to the wall. It felt even too easy to stab him with my hidden blade.

As I finished him, another group of red coats came running towards me.

“Bloody Templars” They had placed swarms of men to guard any underground outlets. I had to thread with care, but time was running short.

For a moment I panicked thinking that Hope might have been in the midst of the battle. In danger. I knew John would have given his life to protect hers, but it was not enough.

I sprinted forward. I did not know Boston that well, and the prospect of finding more enemies along the way made me opt for taking the higher ground.  

From the rooftops, I could see the fort clearly. It was no more than a couple of hundred of yards away. There was a threatening column of smoke coming rising above it. Hope’s way to let all the world know not to mess with her, but also a clever trick to rally troops in that exact place.

The fort’s gates had been left opened.  I rushed inside, ready to fight. However instead of finding a battle raging on, a ghastly silence welcomed me.

“What the hell is going on here?” I asked myself out aloud.

I moved a few paces around, looking for any hint of where my companions could have been.

What had happened to my men? Why was there no one in place?

Just when I was about to climb up to have a better view of the place, I heard careful steps approaching me from behind.

_‘No doubt it is a_ Templar’, I thought.

 I carried on walking forward, but my strides were shorter and careful this time. I did not want to give away the fact that I knew someone was following me. The element of surprise he had planned to act on was now spoiled, and when  a strong arm was wrapped around my neck in a strangling fashion, I activated my hidden blade and cut a long red line on my adversary’s forearm. He bore the pain with stoic determination, but was eventually forced to let go as my blade began to penetrate his flesh deeper.  

I spun on myself and brought my knee up to knick the air out of him. But he was no fool: he had seen it coming  and swiftly moved to a side.

To my surprise, I realised that I was facing no less than the infamous Templar Grandmaster Haytham Kenway.

“You... “ I growled under my breath. I was still holding my knives in my hands, ready to strike.

“Yes?” he replied. His tone was calm, his posture straight, like if we were having a friendly conversation. But of course it wasn’t.  

“What do you want? What happened to my men?” I growled. While I spoke, he slowly moved forward and I was forced to walk backwards. His aim was clearly to bring me back to the wall, so that I would have no choice but to duel with him in the end.

“Just give me Johnson’s chest, and all will be explained” he said.

I opened my mouth to  reply that the chest was long gone, but something stopped me. My ear caught a faint sound. It was the quiet chirping of a little bird. Only, gunshots and smoke usually shoo all birds away.

I did not need to turn around. I knew that it was Hope, hidden somewhere behind me.

_Remember: be silent. Be patient. Never let them see you coming_. Clever girl.

So now I was in possession of precious information. All my men were probably hidden nearby, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“I don’t know what you are talking about” I said. I was almost at the end of the square. A few more paces and I’d be trapped in a corner.

“Of course he does” said a third voice, and the man named Charles appeared from behind the Grand Master’s shoulders. He was pointing a pistol at me, and his face showed a ferocious grin.

Somehow, the sight of the weapon upset me slightly. I was used to it, of course, but this time it was different. This time, they were British Templars.

“Where are your friends, boy?” he went on asking, getting neared and nearer to me with each word.

“Yes. We haven’t seen any besides the ones we have slaughtered in the tunnels. And the little friends the Grand Master here has deceived into leaving you out of the gates. You thought they had abandoned you, didn’t you? They were not all traitors after all” this time it was Hickey to speak, a half-drunk smirk on his face.

“They are far more clever than you think” I replied harshly. With the corner of my eye, I noticed that Charles was nervously looking around himself.

“They were here” I heard him saying, “The Assassins must have killed them all. But where are the bodies?”

“Charles” reproached him the Grandmaster. Then, to me: “This is dragging along for a little bit too long” .

“Then we should put a stop to it” I grinned, and in that precise moment, a shower of Assassins allies jumped down the roofs and unsheathed their blades.

“Give chase!”

 It didn’t take long for Templar reinforcements to arrive, but it was evident that we had the upper hand.

Without hesitation, I jumped forward and engaged in a fight with the Grandmaster. With both my daggers in my hands, I launched myself forward, covering the distance between us in a matter of seconds. Simultaneously, he pointed his sword at me and parried my blows with ease. I tried again, this time attempting to mislead him with a more direct approach, but instead of confusing him, all I got was a wound on my cheek.

“Don’t mess with me, Assassin!” he said, but there was little convincement in his words this time.

I sought for eye contact and wielded my blade for a more powerful blow. Haytham Kenway raised his armed hand and counterattacked with such force that I was sent stumbling backwards, and then I feel on my back. I immediately recoiled, and searched the ground for my sword. I saw it shining in the dust just a few feet away, definitely out of my reach.

I looked up. I knew that my parrying dagger was not enough to spar with such a powerful opponent as the Grand Master.

“Do you surrender?” he said, staring at me from above.

I looked at him with ferocity, but his eyes did not match my hate. Instead, I saw a different  sparkle. He could have finished me right then and there, but he didn’t. He gazed at me with a sort of repressed admiration. One moment he was there and the next, he was gone.

“Shay! What the hell are you doing?” John screamed at me. “That was the Grand Master! He might have killed you!” he was dripping with blood. A corpse laid by his feet.

I got back to my feet and collected my sword quickly.

“Where is that man? The tall, black-haired one?” I asked.

“He’s run away”

_The gunpowder_ I thought as an enemy attempted to shoot at me. I took him down with a throwing knife in the throat.

“We must get out everyone out of the tunnels, now!” I screamed.

“Why? Hope has gone down there, she wants to- hey!” he called out as I sprinted forward.

 I didn’t stop to think for a millisecond: my body guided me into the watchtower, inside which was the entrance to the tunnels.

Horrified, I noticed that the bodies of those who should have come to my aid were scattered inside the rooms of the building. The whole floor was soaked in blood.

“Damn Templars!” I shouted in rage, “they will pay for it!”

Hope must have thought the same, as the moment I descended underground I heard that there was fight going on. And what a fight! There must have been at least a dozen enemies down there. But how had they gotten in if the doors were locked from the outside?

_Traitors_ I realised as I spotted Hope fighting with a men which wore the uniform of Assassin allies.

“Hope! We must get out of here!” I screamed.

“No way I am allowing these traitors get away with what they have done. How much have the Templars paid you to make you turn your back to us?” she said with anger. The corridor she was fighting in was so narrow that a single mistake could have been fatal for her and the few ones who backed her.

“There are explosives down in the tunnels. I heard  the Templars  talking about it”

“What?” exclaimed one of Hope’s adversaries, still fighting her with a long sword. “Templars are not like that. They would never”

“To what purpose, then? There are but a few chances that an explosion would kill us from such a distance”

On the other side of the tunnel, a hateful voice responded. “What makes you think that, sweetheart? We have been on it for weeks, and you... you are standing right on a powder keg. I have a match in my hand”

“Damn you, Hickey!” I screamed in rage.

“What about us? We are your allies! You won’t kill us, will you?” screamed one of the Templar’s men.

“You are nothing but tools. Baits” he replied. His voice sounded further, now.

“He is falling back to a safe distance so that the explosion won’t kill him” stated Hope with a dead calm voice.

“What are waiting for? Let’s run!” Screamed one of the traitors.

 In those instants of utter panic, it didn’t matter that we had been fighting one against the other just a moment before: traitors and betrayed dropped their weapons and began to make their way out together.

 I grabbed Hope’s hand and run as fast as I could, up the stairs and further still. After a couple of seconds, one after the other, the traps were activated, blowing up the walls behind us.

It was a terrifying experience: the ground quaked, and fire threatened to strangle us with its long fingers of smoke.  Every breath was painful and incandescent, every step painful because of my half-burned shoe soles. And then there was the noise, deafening and terrifying noise of a massive explosion. Yet, we kept running and running, up the stairs and out in the open air.

 We had just got out of the tower’s reach that it came crumbling down. Fire burned the ground under our feet. I held Hope’s hand tighter and tighter still; the feeling of her fingers wrapped against me the only thing that kept me going. Ashes got into my eyes, blurring my vision, and caught into my breath, making air venomous. The Templars had planted those damned explosives everywhere, disguising them as supplies boxes. No doubt those traitors had helped them in the process, taking advantage that no one was there to control them.

 When at least we were far enough from the fort to be considered safe, only then did I dare to stop to catch my breath. I didn’t let go of Hope’s hand, and she did not let go of mine. We both leaned forward, and I pressed her hand on my knee as I caught my breath.

I raised my eyes to look at her. To my surprise, she was smiling, her hood still covering her face.

“You have been amazing” she breather out.

I looked at her face, which had been blackened by ashes and dirt. Slowly, I raised my hand to brush away a lock of hair which was covering her eye.

“Oh. God” wheezed a familiar voice. We both turned to face John. He was exhausted, and black from head to toe. “These Templars are going to finally make me lose a few ounces”.

Hope untangled her hand from mine. John didn’t miss that, but made no comment. Silently, I blessed him for his politeness.

“That wouldn’t be a bad thing at all” I commented, and he regarded me with a murderous but playful look.   “It... we’ve been so close” I said then.  

“We have. And if we have made it through it is only thanks to you, Shay” he commented.

“But now the fort is ruined”  I said, pointing at the fire which was slowly consuming the buildings.

“No big deal. It was just an old deposit” said Hope, “but we must make sure that the fire doesn’t endanger the population”.

“I agree with you” I replied, and turned my head to look at her. She stared back for a moment and the frowned.

“You look... perplexed”

“I am. I think... I think I have found the solution to all our problems” I whispered.

 ‘ _Haytham Kenway. If only I could talk to him.... ’_ I thought it, but did not speak it out aloud.

“Have you? Or has smoke simply got to your head?” remarked John. “Come on, hurry up. Let’s get over with this. I need a pint”

We began to walk, but I still felt that there was something... not quite right. I looked up and then around.

On a rooftop just above our heads, I spotted Haytham Kenway silently staring at me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this!  
> Also, let me know in the comments if you thought that this chapter is too long or if you’d prefer future updates to be as long as this one.   
> :D Have a great week!


	7. A little step forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here is a new chapter. To thank you all of your support, I’ve made it extra-long. Enjoy!

Rain was falling heavily from the sky, hitting my back like a cascade of angry punches. Even though we were halfway through May, the weather did not seem to offer us respite: outside it was as cold and windy as an early autumn evening.

I was squatting on a rooftop overlooking the road. Besides me, John patiently waited for the convoy to approach.

Instead of going back to the Manor, I had insisted upon remaining in Boston for another couple of weeks. In my rushed missive to Liam, I had not specified the reason of my staying. I doubted that he or any Assassin for the matter could have understood.

 “Is it him?” asked me John, ducking on the rooftop by my side.

“It is” I responded almost in a whisper.

I leaned forward to have a better view of the street. Just a few yards underneath me, some of my worst enemies were parading, all disguised as redcoats. My eyes focused on one of them in particular: Haytham Kenway, who was triumphantly sitting on a cart, reins tight in hand.

John hadn’t complained when I had asked him to remain by my side and aid me in my mission. ‘If you broke your neck in the process, Liam would snap mine’ was all he said about his decision. 

“Look” he whispered, and pointed a finger towards the Templars.

“What is it?” I asked, taking a closer look to the cart. It was not a simple carriage that the Grand Master was riding. It was a slave carrier.

“Blasted Templars” I growled lowly. But that was not all.

Next to me, I noticed that my friend had begun to shiver violently.

“They have got her, the bastards” he said, “Ziio”

My heart skipped a beat. I moved forward to keep up with the carriage and then I saw her. She bore the same proud demeanour as always, with her back upright and her hair neatly combed into two braids. Yet, even from such far a distance, I could say that something was wrong. Something about the way she uncomfortably shifted in her seat, and looked around. She was afraid. The slavers had trapped her wild charm, stole her future and shattered her dreams. Sometimes it really feels loathsome to be human.

“They will pay for it. If they try to hurt her, I swear....”

“Have heart, my brother. We will free her” I reassured him.  

My friend did not reply. He had never been one to speak much, and he was still very upset about what he was witnessing. He had always looked at Ziio in a different way. We all admired her, that was sure; but for him, it was different. He saw her as an unreachable love, as a Goddess to worship in silence from a safe distance.  

‘There is nothing worse than slavery in this world’ I thought as the Templars came to halt in front of the infamous Fort Arsenal. The very core of slave trading.

 

Getting in was more though than expected. In the end, we were forced to go back and retrieve the uniforms of some regulars the Templars had killed. We disguised ourselves as red coats and only then we were able to enter the fort. Once in, we immediately realised that something was wrong.

“Look” whispered John. He pointed at the cart Kenway had been driving just an hour before. It had been left, empty, in a corner. At its feet, hidden in the grass, half a dozen natives were silently looking at us.

“You go talk to them. I will try and see what the Templars are up to” My friend said.

I nodded, and we parted ways.

Silently, I approached the empty cage and pretended to check that the cage was in good conditions.

“Shay!” A voice called me. It was Ziio.

“Thank Godness” I whispered. “Are you all right?”

“I am. A man freed me. He is helping the others, too. As we speak, he is opening up the cages”

For now, I did not comment. I hid my surprise under a smile and said: “I will see what I can do to help”

* * *

The chaos broke when a man –probably the Fort’s chief, Silas Thatcher - returned. He noticed the empty cages, and that some of his man went missing. Instead of blending in and pretend to look for the culprit, the Templars seized the occasion to trigger a fight.

The soldiers were confused. They were not able to discriminate the foe from the friend, so in the end they were taken down before they realised who the enemies was. The Mohawks joined in the fight, too. I did not want to risk being detected, so I climbed the fort’s stairs and took position behind the cannons. From there I fired against whoever attempted to hurt one of the natives.

In the midst of the commotion, I witnessed an interesting facts.  First, Ziio was talking to Haytham Kenway. They fought back to back, and he seemed to trust her to the point of handing her his sword after she was disarmed. Following this, he run ahead and called another Templar I did not recognise. It was him, in the end, which executed Thatcher.

I waited for a blushing Haytham Kenway to finish talking to Ziio. He must have asked her his sword back, and after she handed it over, he hesitated before grabbing the handle.

‘Strange. Very strange’ I thought as I noticed that he followed her with his eyes. ‘I did not know Templars had feelings’.

I turned back to meet John and plan our escape, but in doing so something caught my attention: Thomas Hickey, casually strolling towards his team mates. I growled silently as he stopped and patted Charles Lee on his back. He was right beneath me. If I leaned over, I could hear his voice.

Without giving it a great deal of thought, I grabbed my musket. Then I aimed. Finally, I pulled the trigger.

I did not want him to die. Not right now, at least. First, he had to suffer.

My bullet deprived him of the thing that was most dear to him: his manhood. He had deserved this treatment  for planning of hurting Hope, or any other woman. 

‘Such scum should be swept off the world’ I thought as I made my way out of the fort. 

* * *

“I hate horses” I growled for the thousandth time that day. I had been muttering the same curse for a whole month now, but today I was more convinced than ever.

“Well, if you wanted my opinion, you fully deserved it” said Liam. He was leaning on the stable’s walls, and he looked at me.

“And what are you here for exactly, Liam?” I spitted out angrily.

“Just enjoying the show. It is not like I can see you scrubbing horse s***e everyday”  he said with a small chuckle.

I raised my eyes at him and regarded him with my most ferocious grin.

“Ah, I’m only joking. Here, let me help you. I will take care of the hay”.

For my ‘lack of rational thinking’, the Mentor had assigned me the nastiest punishment I could think of: cleaning the stables. After the caretakers had abandoned the Homestead, the whole place had been neglected a great deal, so that the horses refused to go back in at night for the smell and the level of degradation of their boxes. I hadn’t reported all the truth: John and I had omitted the particular when we entered Fort Arsenal and fought back to back with the Templars. Or the fact that we had seen one of our allies talking with our deadliest enemy (even though by any chance Ziio had no idea who Haytham Kenway was). All we said was that we had gathered useful information, and there had been an accident – a minor accident- following which I had severely injured Hickey.

“And what would that be?” Achilles had asked.

“Shay has blown off.... One of his most intimates parts of the body” John had said with impeccable seriousness.

The Mentor did not replay straight away. Deep inside, I thought that he could somehow approve my action. If he had known the whole story, he would have.

Yet  here I was now, on my knees, a cloth in hand. And I knew I had been lucky.

‘At least I am grateful Hope is not here to witness’ The thought of her brought back a wave of heat to my head, and then it spread out in my chest and limbs.

“Are you listening to me?” Liam’s voice brought me back to reality.

“What?”

“You are due in the Manor as soon as you’re done here”

“Right. You know what? I think I will not bother to wash myself. I can go on like this, and get the living room’s precious carpets all messed up. I think that would drive Achilles mad”

“Yes, it would”.

“But I cannot understand why he’s so obsessed with it now. He never gave a damn about the house until a while ago. He was the first one to splash around with muddy boots when we went inside”

“Yes, that is right. But now... he ‘s careful about it because... because _she_ was” Liam said. His voice was dry, but I recognised a deep sadness in it. I, too, felt a lump in my throat, and so I hushed.

For a moment, my mind went back in time, and I pictured the Homestead as it was before tragedy stuck. Whenever someone was sick, or sad, or simply needed someone to talk to, the first place he or she headed to was the house. Miss Abigail was always kind, always willing to lend a hand, to listen to our troubles; she was the one in charge to sew wounds and lift the spirits. Without her, the Homestead felt sad and empty.

* * *

“Mentor” I said, and then I bowled my head in respect as I entered his office.

“Shay. I trust your punishment has given you the chance of rethinking about your behaviour?”

I stared at the floor, praying that my expression would not give me away. But it mattered little, now. He could always tell when we lied. He had waited a whole month for me to open up, and now he had grown tired to wait.

 “We have a guest” he said with a flat voice, leaning on his char and waving at me to take a seat.

“I.... I am glad to hard that”

 “Why did you omit the fact that you meet Ziio, and what about your little adventure at Fort Arsenal? “he asked with an emotionless  voice.

I literally felt blood draining from my face.

“It was not just me back there, Mentor. With due respect, John-“

"John doesn’t like to speak about her. And you know that”

“There is nothing to say, then” I said standing up. “I will leave the Brotherhood at once” My eyes were still fixed on the floor. I had acted shamefully, I knew, but I had done what I deemed right.

“Shay. Looked at me” he called, and I finally met his eyes. I was surprised to find amusement in them, and also sweetness. He was acting like a father, now.

“You know I punish disobedience, and foolishness. Excess of zeal, too, at times. But I have never given any penalty to those who acted using their heads, or done something sensible”  he stood up and looked outside  the window. For a moment, his eyes drifted away, and so did his mind. I waited. In those long moments, I felt more self-conscious than I ever had. I tried to brush off the sweet from the palms of my hands, but it only got worse.

“You have acted selflessly, and showed humbleness. You risked your life to save a friend, and for the Brotherhood. Your courage will be rewarded”

I let out the breath I had been holding in a single, long puff.

“Oh, well. I thought you were going to give me the biggest rocket in history!” I exclaimed, and then I slouched back again on the chair.

“Can I have some tea?” I asked after a short while, willing to break the silence.

My Mentor produced a low growling sound that resembled laughing.

‘I wonder how long it has been since he did something such as laughing’ I thought.

Right in that moment, I heard a knocking sound behind my shoulders. I turned my head lazily, convinced that it was Liam. It wasn’t.

“Hope. I wasn’t expecting you here” I said with a startle.

Hope and Ziio were both on the doorway, and both of then chuckling.

“I am. And I’ve heard all about your punishment” she said with laughter in her voice.

I felt myself blush furiously, and adjusted my posture on the chair.

“Well, I ... “ I tried to speak, but my tongue was sticking to my palate. Instead, I settled my hair with a hand.

“Sorry I missed the show. Is there going to be a replay?” she asked.

“No, there won’t” the Mentor replied.

I felt a little embarrassed. The last thing I had wished for was for her to hear that I had once again got into trouble. She would never take me into consideration again. Now, though, she was having a rather funny behaviour: as she and Ziio took a seat, I caught her flashing an admiring look at me, and when she noticed that I, too, was looking at her, she cracked a small smile.

My pulse quickened and I found it hard to follow what Achilles was about to say.

“Ziio is telling us that she requires our help”

“I do. It is about ambushing Edward Braddock. I have already spoken about it with you in the past, but you won’t listen” she said with evident criticism in her voice.

“We had our good reasons not to” Hope said carefully, “You know that interfering with politic activities is .... unsafe for us. Especially if you consider that some of our men are officially involved in the war”

“I have found a man who will help me” she said then.

I couldn’t explain why, but I felt a shiver running down my spine

“Oh. That is good news, then. In this instance, we can lend a hand” the Mentor said, but his eyes were careful. “Who is he? How come he agreed to help you in such a risky mission?”

Ziio’s expression was queer as she spoke. It was about her eyes, shining with enthusiasm yet not entirely sure about passing on the information we had asked.

“I thought you knew about it all already. After all, you would have all the reason to” she stated.

“Why is it so?” asked Hope, and this time her tone was full of apprehension.

“His name is Haytham Kenway. He is a British Assassin”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Warning: from next chapter the rating could change to M.   
> Have a good week-end!


	8. A Small Leap of Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for the delay. I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter!

Silence fell heavily into the room.

“British... Assassin?” I said. My voice sounded funny, but I could not help myself from asking. “How can you be so sure?”

“He has the blades” she said simply, “I saw them”

For a long minute, no one spoke. Ziio sat straight in the chair, her back proudly held straight. She was waiting for a response.

“Not all of those who have the blades are Assassins” commented Hope. Her tone was alert, now. “Has he told you that he is part of the Brotherhood?”

“Is he not?”

“He isn’t” the Mentor replied, and his disgusted expression gave away what he was really thinking. “He is a Templar”

Ziio was not an Assassin. She had never showed any interest in joining us, but she knew well who we fought against. Slave traders, and slaughters.

“I ... he didn’t mention that. As a matter of fact, he did not speak of this conflict at all” she said rather casually, but I could see that she was disappointed, even saddened about the news. Maybe she had seen something she had liked about Kenway?

“What did he ask you in exchange of this... favour?” Achilles asked rather seriously. He leaned forward, as if he didn’t want to miss a word of what was about to be said.

“He could have blackmailed me. He could have killed me kidnapped me. But instead, he chose to help me and gain my trust first”

“First?”

“Haytham is in possession of an amulet. He is confident that it is a key that will open ‘something’. He is looking for a cave, or any sort of secret place whose incisions match those on the amulet”

“No!” I exclaimed, and I stood up. “He must never!”

“Calm down, Shay” said Hope, and in the next moment she was besides me, her hand on my arm, “Sit down”

I did as she asked, but I was still in a state of shock. I could not believe it. So it was true. There was indeed another temple in the area, and the Templars had the key. ‘So they must have access to the copy of the Manuscript’, I thought. Unless this amulet worked even without it.

Ziio looked at me for a long moment. “I have no idea about what you are talking about. The place he would like to get to... I know where it is. It is a holy place for my people. Nothing... extreme about it. Nothing strange. I have no idea about what this amulet would be for, honestly speaking”.

Her words somehow made me calm down a bit. I felt Hope’s presence behind our backs. She was walking to and fro, restless.

“I never imagined we would come to this point” she said. “If it is true that the Templars have copies of the Manuscript... well, Haytham Kenway surely knows something about it. After all he is collaborating with Johnson, who is the one who made the copy by himself” she reasoned out aloud.

“Have you seen any of them? Outside the Fort, I mean?” the Mentor asked.

“No, I haven’t. Haytham doesn’t really like them”

There was something about the way she pronounced his name that made me think about                             how I spoke about my beloved. ‘There must be more to it’ I thought as I carefully analysed Ziio’s features. As she spoke, she seemed animated by a new vivacity. Her lips curled in a thin smile, and her cheeks were redder than usual.

“I really don’t know what to say, Ziio. If the Templars are aiding you in this mission then .... I am afraid we won’t be able to send reinforcements. If Kenway knew that you have affiliates among the Assassins, I fear...” the Mentor begun, but he was immediately interrupted.

“Haytham is not _that_ kind of man” Ziio said.

“Oh?”

“He is clever, and reasonable. I am sure he would understand. He would make a truce”

I looked around me. Hope’s face was suspicious now, and she looked around with care.

“Are you sure about what you are talking about?”

“She is right” I said then, breaking the silence. I stood from my chair and cleared my throat. That was my chance to convince them of what I thought.  “Haytham Kenway is different from the other Templars”

“And what makes you think so?” my boss demanded.

“He could have killed me when he was looking for Johnson’s chest. Twice, actually. He didn’t”

I left out the bit about him observing me in the distance, and then added: “He also helped enslaved native. And he gave Ziio his sword when she was defenceless”  

Hearing these words, my friend’s face coloured with a purple hue.

“I think we should consider what Ziio said. Maybe making an agreement with him won’t be easy, but I am sure it would work”

“And how, for a start, would you try to speak to him? How would you motivate your collaboration with him?” Hope asked, “Our aim is that of getting to those blasted Manuscripts. He will never agree to that”

“No. But we could take advantage of the situation here” I said carefully.

“This is nonsense” she snapped back.

“No. Let him talk” the Mentor said.

So I sat back and exposed my plan.

“Haytham Kenway knows that Ziio knows where the cave is. Ziio will not tell him unless he gives us the Manuscript. We can pretend to know that the cave contains a huge reward, but that it needs two pieces to be activated, and that we have the other one”

“What makes you think I want to collaborate?” Ziio asked.

“If you do, we will be the ones to free your land from Braddock. As simple as that. The Templars partially get what they want. We get what we want. Everyone is happy” After having spoken, I leaned back on my chair and yawned. It was getting darker and I felt tired.

“Bloody brilliant” Liam commented from the door.

* * *

Right after dinner, instead of chatting with the others as I usually did, I went back to my room to have some rest. A long journey was ahead of me, and I was more than willing to go ahead and show the world what I was capable of.

“You’re not sleeping already, are you?” asked me Liam, entering the room.

“I am”

“Well, my candle will not bother you, then” he said, and then took a seat in front of his desk.

“I was actually impressed with your plan, Shay. You never told me about it”

“For once, I’m the clever one” I tried to joke, but I knew that my friend was disappointed by my lack of confidence.

“You didn’t even tell me about Fort Arsenal. Why? Where you afraid I could question your choices?”

I didn’t answer immediately. I sat up in my bed and for a long minute I stared at the flame dancing on top of the candle. “My actions _were_ questionable, Liam. I acted more on instinct that anything else. I knew you would blame me, because I was the first one to do so”

“I can hardly believe that you dragged John in this” he said, but this time his voice was more relaxed. Amused, even.

“Life is strange at times”

“And I can’t believe you shot Thomas Hickey... well. That is hardly condemnable”

“I’m glad you think that”

“I also think you have changed, Shay” he said. In the darkness, I saw him putting the quill down and leaning on his chair. “When I saw you in that state, when you came back from... from Europe, I thought that it was over. I would never get you back again” he said in a  whisper.

A pause followed, and I thought about how hard it must have been for him to see me in that state and think that it was his fault.

“Now you sound like a concerned lover” I said.

“Ah, I’ve spoken too soon about you getting your head in place, Shay!” he laughed, and turned to look at me, “you are a brother to me. Besides, in your absence, I’ve had enough of... _that._..”

“Liam! I didn’t know you were _that_ kind of person” I mocked him.

“Yeah, sure” he moved around the room and shut the window. The Manor was not sheltered by trees, so that a cold wind blew at night.

I leaned down again and closed my eyes. Even though the Morrigan was like a second home for me, there was nothing better than lying on my bed in the brick house at night, under a soft layer of covers. Once more, I thought about how it must feel like, to have a warm body breathing next to mine to share heat and cold with. I was so absorbed in my fantasies that I almost didn’t her Liam calling my name.

“I’m trying to sleep, for your information”

“I just wanted to ask you when you grew a third foot and how you manage to hide it so well”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“When you were away, I’ve found nine socks under your sheets. And your bed was left unmade, of course”

“Alright, got it”

“Filthy socks, they were”

“Stop gossiping”

“One of them had three holes on the heels and one on the big toe. I wonder what you use your feet for”

“Kicking you, if you don’t shut your mouth” I mumbled

“Good night, then” Liam finally said, and I heard him getting under his sheets, too.

“Good night” I repeated, and then drifted in a calm, content sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you all for your support! It really means a lot to me. Have a good week :)


	9. And.... Action!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry for the delay! I have been so busy in these last weeks that I’ve hardly had the time to write anything.   
> I hope you enjoy!

“What the hell are those two doing?”  James asked out aloud.

“Shh!” Hope tried to shush him, but it was a lost cause.

We had been hiding in a small cabin just outside the town of Lexington for the past two hours, waiting for Ziio’s arrival. She had informed us that she had an appointment with Haytham Kenway in a tavern nearby, where they were headed to collect some information. Afterwards, she promised to bring him to us so that we could speak with him properly. There was just a problem in our way: she couldn’t just open the door and formally introduce the Templar Grand Master to a group of blood-thirsty Assassins: we were enemies. At least, for now. So we were forced to try and find a way to hide ourselves in a six-squared foot cabin whose only furniture was a table and two chairs.

In the end, Hope had a brilliant idea: she cut off the drapes from the window and managed to carve out a little concealed space in a corner. Anyone would think that whoever placed that heavy fabric that way was desperate for some privacy when reliving himself.

So we stood there, holding our breaths. James and I were almost pressed against each other on the wall so that there was at least a little distance between us and Hope. Even in these extreme conditions, we wanted to behave like gentlemen and leave her some space. 

“This is not I was planning to spend my afternoon. Not that I am complaining” James said ironically.

“Very funny” I commented with as much sarcasm as I could gather, but deep inside I felt like laughing.

“Will the two of you ever stop?” Hope whispered, “They could come in any minute”

“I told you to remain to the base, Hopie. I told you we could manage it very well by ourselves” James joked.

“Don’t call me that way!” she snapped back, and then poked him in the ribs.

For a moment, I looked with horror at the whole structure wobbling around us. The support which held the fabric in place moved dangerously, but luckily didn’t fall over.

“You see? Who’s the light- headed, irresponsible, inpatient and undisciplined Assassin, now?” James tried to imitate her, and I stifled a laugh.

“If you two won’t stop behaving like babies, you’ll compromise this already frail plan. I am sincerely surprised, Shay. I thought that at least you had a little brain left”

This last comment somehow hurt me, and I felt unable to reply.

Luckily, James did it for me. “Shay is a good boy. It is my influence that’s bringing the worst out of him. Aren’t you just a sweet cuddling bear, Shay? Don’t you feel like hugging him, Hope?”

She sighed and shook her head.

“Alright. I really can’t get angry with you, can I?”

“That’s my good girl!” he laughed, and I smiled, too. I was so grateful that my embarrassment had been overshadowed by his statements.

Right then, we heard a noise coming from outside.

“It is here. I need this one thing to show you. Please remove your boots once inside. I’d like to keep the place clean” It was Ziio’s voice, soft and careful as always. This time, though, there was something more in her intonation... some trepidation. Some excitement.

Instinctively, we stacked our necks towards the edge of the drapes to catch at least a glance of what was going on outside. I could see nothing but the main door and a portion of the table standing in front of it. Not much, but still better than nothing.

The door opened with a creaking noise. The first thing I caught a glimpse of was a white boot setting a careful step inside.

“Well” said Haytham’s voice. I couldn’t see his face, but I could swear he was looking around.

“Wait, let me close the this” said Ziio, and then she turned the key and bolted the door.

“Well, I... I wasn’t expecting this. Not so soon”

Ziio must have looked at him with a puzzled expression, because after a few moments Kenway cleared his throat and went on saying with embarrassment: “You know, I... _we._ We, the English. We usually wait until marriage for these things. Not that I am complaining...”

“What are you talking about?” asked Ziio, and her voice was full of suspicion, now.

Almost feeling brotherly sympathy for his clumsiness – but mostly to take advantage of his astonishment- I jumped out of my hiding spot and grabbed his arm, but before I could twist it behind his back he had already turned towards me, his fist ready to hit my face.

Luckily, I was not alone.

In a matter of seconds, James had his pistol pointed at the Grandmaster’s head.

“Where are your Templar henchman, Kenway?” he asked with a ferocious grin as I immobilised him and pushed my blade at his neck , “Aren’t they here to cover your back?”

He did not reply. I saw his squeezing his eyes shut in pain and let out a sharp breath.

“Stop it!” it was our ally now to scream. She unsheathed her tomahawk and looked at me ferociously.

“I trusted you, Ziio” the Templar said.

“Unhand him” said Hope quietly. “Remember our purpose. We are not here to kill. We are here for a truce”

I did as she said, but I kept my blades close, just in case.

As I left my grip on him, Ziio grabbed Kenway’s arm and dragged him away.

“Haytham. These are Shay, Hope and James” she resumed in a calm tone, “and you have my word: they won’t lie”

“I believe I have had the pleasure of meeting the mistress here. And the gentleman, of course” he said nodding at me politely, but I could hear sarcasm behind his tone.

“However, I believe I haven’t yet had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of  this third gentleman ...”

“I am no gentleman” said James, imitating his English accent with a sneer.

“I am sorry. Let’s start this over again, shall we?” he replied readily.

“If you wish” replied my friend with a challenging voice.

Kenway cleared his throat. By this simple gesture I understood that trouble was ahead.

“I believe I haven’t been the honour of being introduced to this swelling pimple of a man... Mister Furuncle, is it? ”

With the corner of my eye, I saw James springing towards him, and I leaned forward to grab his arm.

“Please. Master Kenway, I didn’t know you were such a jester” I blurted.

“So typical of you Assassins. Wasting your time as if it was worth nothing” he snapped back. From his expression, it was clear we hadn’t made quite an impression on him.

“Right. Shay, James. Shut your pathetic mouths and let us discuss” Hope said, signalling us to move out of the way.

“I see you are the head, here” Haytham observed, and then he looked at Ziio as to have a confirmation.

“Indeed”

“Then tell me straightaway what it is you want”

I could see now why this man was so powerful. Simple and direct, yet with uncommon manners which allowed him to hide his interests under a layer of politeness. He knew how to get to the point.

“We want a truce” I said without thinking too much about what we had established. In particular, I decided to forget that it was not me who was supposed to talk.  “We have been informed that you are looking for a particular site. A Precursor site”

Hearing these words, Kenway turned again towards Ziio, who this time bent her head and didn’t look at him. For the first time in my life, I saw her hide herself.

I resumed my speech. “Well, Ziio has made you a favour. As a matter of fact, she tried to.... ‘borrow’ the second part of the key from us.” I ignored James’ perplexed looks. I was making this up as I went, but I couldn’t stand to make my friend appear like a traitor.

“A second part of the key?” Kenway repeated, looking sincerely interested.

“You are not deaf, are you, Kenway?” laughed my friend behind me.

He ignored him altogether. “Go on. I am listening”

 

It was Hope that illustrated him the situation: the Assassin had a matching amulet which was necessary to pen the ‘chamber’, and they were willing to collaborate with him. We wanted to _help_  him, but to a little price.

Once again, he looked at Ziio. She nodded, and I found myself hardly believing my eyes. Ziio’s word seemed to be worth more than any actual proof of the fact that he could trust us. As a matter of fact, he soon asked: “And what would that be?”

“We want the Manuscript. We want the one your man Johnson has copied. Only when it will be laid in our hands will we surrender the second key”

“Why such interest in the Manuscript? As far as I know, you have already conducted your research on the matter and...”

“This does not concern you. If you agree with us, we will proceed with the exchange. If you don’t, we will let you go” said Hope coldly, and in the next moment I felt her warm hand on my shoulder almost protectively. I looked at her and our eyes met for a brief moment. We both knew that the next few minutes were going to be crucial for the outcome of the mission.

“How gentlemanly of you. Letting me go” he tried to seem bothered by the situation, but he was clearly taking the matter into consideration.

“It is no small amount of sacrifice we are making here” I observed.

“That’s the whole point of it, though. Why? Why would the Assassins offer me a key to a warehouse that could contain a source of endless power, and all in exchange for an apparently useless Manuscript”

“You said it. ‘Could’” Hope said carefully. “We don’t know what that place hides. It can be a tremendous advantage or a terrible disappointment. To you the consequences of the choice”

A pause followed. The Templar Grandmaster took a deep breath.

“Fair enough. I will see what I can do”

Hope and I released our breaths at the same time, and just then I realised how focused she had looked like the whole time, and how the tension had turned her usually pale cheeks red.

Our silent triumph was interrupted by James. “What do you mean, what you can do?”

“You don’t expect us to keep the Manuscript hidden under our mattress, do you? I shall meet you here in three day’s time” he concluded. Without waiting for the response he shoved the door with his shoulder with what seemed an effortless gesture and sprained it.

“Wait!” James called back. “How can we know you will not be followed?” the Templar Grandmaster turned to face us, and this time his expression was serious, almost solemn.

“I won’t”

* * *

“This is madness! That cocky bastard thinks he’s a god. And Ziio trots after him, too!” James exclaimed in disbelief, throwing his stick into the fire with a ferocious growl.

“I think she quite likes him. Have you noticed the glances they exchanged during the interrogation?” Hope observed.

“You’re the only woman there, and the only one who notices these things” my friend snapped back.

“Watch out! I am no lady here nor elsewhere. And I am your unforgiving master” she said with a playful voice.

We were sitting on a long, thick fallen log in the wood, not too far away from the cabin yet no so close as to see it. We had lit a small fire in front of us despite the weather, and since no one was quite in the mood for going back to the base we had decided to stay a little longer.

“Maybe. But you are a human none the less, and you have your failings and weak spots” James added .

“James! Drink has gone to your brain. You are saying something almost sensible and... reasonable!”

I shook my head. My mind was clouded by thoughts and doubts. I knew that _the_ moment had come. I felt it in my blood, but I didn’t know how to make it happen. Everything was messed up in front of my eyes now, the unshakable words I had repeated over and over in my head like a mantra for the past hours... gone. There was nothing I could do right now. Only wait.

 “Alright, now” my friend said after a moment, probably noticing my distress, “I’ll leave the two of you for a bit” he stood up and handed me his half-full glass.

Friendship was a wonderful thing.

I readily gulped down the content and then I returned my gaze to the fire.

“You look troubled” Hope said after a short while.

“That is because I am” I simply stated.

“What do you mean? If there is a problem with the mission, you should talk with the whole team”

“Even if I meant to do that, James has gone God-knows where” I sighed.

“I have asked him to do so” she told me softly.

I looked up and met her eyes. Slowly, my senses awakened and I realised that she was sitting right next to me, our legs so near that, which each breath, my knee touched hers.

“Well, I... I really can’t imagine why. It’s not like I have done a mess or anything. This time, at least”

“Quite the contrary. And that’s what I wanted to talk about. You look ... worried, lately. Too involved with our work”

“Listen who’s speaking now!” I exclaimed, and my lips widened in a grin.

“That’s what I wanted to see” she replied softly, touching my cheek with her hand. “Don’t you know that you are beautiful when you smile?”

“I... well. Thank you” I replied almost sheepishly. I hadn’t seen that coming. I was so near to her, now, that I could clearly see every little shade of green in her eyes.

“That’s not what a gentleman is supposed to say”

I let out a quiet chuckle and closed my eyes as I spoke “No. It’s useless to tell you that you’re always beautiful. With sun or rain, at four o’clock in the morning as well as in the depths of night. You are beautiful even with your teacher’s reproaching frown on, and.... and when you smile, or look sleepy, and even when you are tired...” I paused, uncertain on how to express myself. “There are no words to describe it... “ I breathed in the end.

I opened my eyes to see my words’ effect on her.

Then, hardly believing my senses, I turned around.

She was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this last chapter.  
> Recently, my thought has gone to all the war victims belonging to any time line, everywhere in the world.  
> We are the world! If we huddle up together, there can be peace! Even a little gesture can make the difference :)


	10. Transition

‘And now?’ I thought worriedly when I realised that the three days were coming to an end. Matter was that, besides building emergency traps in case Kenway had brought more men along and hunting for food, we spent most of our free time by ourselves, thinking and writing letters or reports about how things were going. After the triumph of the first night, the mood had become quite sullen. Even James, which was usually the sparkle that lighted the atmosphere, was silent and concerned.

As for Hope... well, we hadn’t spoken at all about what happened by the fireplace. She hadn’t modified her attitude one bit, but of course now she knew about my feelings. It was this uncertainty, this constant speculation about her feelings for me that drained all my energies. She didn’t estrange me, but she didn’t come closer, either. Simply, she hadn’t given me an answer. 

Finally, on the night before the appointment with Kenway, James decided that if we were to die, I deserved an answer.

“So what do you say, Hope?” he began out of nowhere.

“Say about what?”

“If something were to happen to one of us tomorrow, what would you regret not telling us?”

I let a breath out in a long puff. This kind of question was not usually very appreciated if you were an Assassin, especially on the dawn on a new, dangerous mission.

“I would regret not telling you to shut your mouth right now, James”

“Come on, Hopie. I know you like to play games” he mocked her back.

“No one likes your games, mate. And your double entendres. That’s what I’d say” I replied.

“Yours is just envy. Admit it”

“All right. It is”

A brief silence followed.

“Shay?” it was Hope’s voice to call me this time. “I am sorry I sent you to Lisbon. I really am”

“That’s over now”

“I have never forgiven myself for that. And nor did the others”

I didn’t answer. There was no point in that now, and at least I had some sort of justification to her behaviour.

* * *

We woke up early on the  following day. I was aware of the fact that we had not showed our best side last in front of Kenway, so this time we were determined to make up our mistakes.

“I will collect the Manuscript from Kenway’s hands. James, you are the expert. You will verify that it is the right book” Hope repeated once more as we saw the Templar Grandmaster walking in our direction.

I let a sarcastic grunt escape my lips as I saw that Ziio was with him, too. It seemed they were having a rather animated conversation. As a matter of fact, the Templar didn’t acknowledge our presence until immediately: he kept staring at Ziio as they talked of God knew what.

However,  as soon as he caught a glimpse of us, he resumed his business attire. A rather curious transformation took place on his face: his relaxed expression  quickly contracted in a focused look, and his arms slid behind his back and under his cloak. Even the wrinkles on his forehead disappeared, leaving a somewhat distorted image of the man he had been just a moment before.  

“Good morning” he greeted us, and then ejected a parcel from his jacket..

‘He doesn’t like wasting time’ I thought as Kenway passed the brown  package  in my friend’s hands. Hope examined it shortly before handling it to James, who readily began to turn it in his hands.

Then, without even bothering to open it, he stretched his arm forward and returned it.

“No, thank you. We don’t want your rubbish, Master Templar” he said with a disgusted expression.

“James! You haven’t even taken a proper look at it!” I exclaimed in disbelief.

“I don’t need to. First of all, the dimension of the book is too little. For it to be the real one, we need full-size drawings. Beside, the texture of the cover it too rough. I feel it with my thumb”

I scrutinised Kenway’s expression. He was truly impressed.

“You’re... good” he said in the end. He seemed a man usually stingy with his praise, so he must have been sincerely surprised.

“Of course I am. It is my work” James replied, trying to appear polite but not being able to contain all himself fully.

Silence fell on us, but it was not hostile. I saw Ziio smile, and that somehow reassured me. She rarely trusted anyone, but this time it looked like she was willing to put her life in Kenway’s hands.

“What now?” I asked after a short while. The alliance idea had been mine, so I felt partially responsible for what was going to happen.

“My intention was that of proving that you knew what you were doing” he replied readily, and then stretched his hand forward to retrieve the false Manuscript.

“I expect you have the true book with you, then” Hope asked.

“Unfortunately, not. The book has been transferred.

“Transferred?”

“Security reasons. After the original Manuscript has been stolen, we... Hmh, we, the Templars, have... taken some precautions. So it has been sent off. Not somewhere we can’t reach, really” he concluded.

“And where would that be?”

“All in good time” he said, and then moved a step forward. “Here is my proposal. We will retrieve the thing. _Together_. And afterwards, you will handle me the key”

“And why don’t you go and get it yourself?” James snapped, “That’s just a plan to stab us in the back!”

“James!” I called, pushing him back. “Shut your mouth” I growled under my breath. He had a point, though.

“What about your... Templar allies? Would they be part...” I began to say, but I was soon interrupted.

“No, no” he said readily, but this time his voice sounded.... almost embarrassed. “My men would stay out of the matter. Knowing that their boss is collaborating with... _you..._  Well, that wouldn’t be the best information to spread around. Not right now”

I could hardly believe my ears. So no one would accompany him on this journey? Not even someone to witness that he was not a traitor?

No one fared to say it aloud, but those words were hovering in everybody’s mind.

“You have a ship” the Templar resumed after a short moment of hesitation. “So you understand why I can’t go on my own. I have no such thing as a private boat to keep my identity hidden. Furthermore, I...” he stopped, and took a deep breath. We watched, waiting for him to carry on talking.

He didn’t. He left that sentence hanging there, without a proper ending. There was something he was hiding from us.

Hope came near to me and put her hand on my harm. “Shay. Go and get the horses. We will head to the Homestead immediately”.   

* * *

We couldn’t of course risk brining the Templar Grandmaster in our very cove. In the end, it was me who went to report the news to the Mentor and ask for his formal permission. Hope and I had established to meet up again in Boston’s harbour, so that we could embark immediately on our mission.

“I can’t believe he agreed to do this. There must be some madness in that man” commented Liam as I finished speaking. “I’m in”

“It is absolutely unwise. We thought the Manuscript was going to be handled to us immediately. To embark on such an adventure  with him... “ said John rather sceptically.

“There is no better option, though” Liam commented. “ I myself am not completely positive about it”

A short silence followed.

“Mentor. If I have your blessing, I shall depart immediately”.

“Not yet” he said. He hadn’t spoken a word since I entered the room, so hearing his voice startled me.

“I have risked losing you once already. This time, I am sending a whole battalion of my best Assassins with you ”  He paused. From the way he started to scratch his hand, I could say there was something else to come. Some big news.

“You will bring Kenway to Adewale before setting course for the location of the Manuscript, no matter what the track is”

“But... this is madness!” exclaimed John, jumping up from his chair. “Why would we do something like that?”

“You don’t question me. Do as I said” the Mentor concluded, and then he sat down.


	11. First stop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everybody! I am sorry to have been absent for so long... I have been kind of stuck with school, so I didn't get the chance to upload soon.

Our little ‘adventure’ had not begun in the best of the ways.

We had our very first argument with the Templar Grandmaster as soon as he set foot on the Morrigan.

“I’ve seen you have reinforcements” he had commented simply, staring at Liam with wary eyes.

“Yes. The Mentor reckoned we might need assistance on our mission”

Haytham had nodded and then he had followed me on the upper deck. The whole battalion of Assassins – and Ziio too, since she had decided to join us- positioned themselves around me.

“So... where are we going?” I asked carefully. I had already expressed my doubts concerning our little drop in we had to make in Havana, but I knew that I didn’t have much choice about that. Especially not with Liam around.

“Well. Is there anywhere in particular we need to go before setting course?” said casually the only Templar onboard.

Everyone turned their heads towards him in disbelief.

“What? What kind of game are you playing, exactly?” asked James.

“He’s not playing games. If he has told you this, there must be a sensible reason” readily replied Ziio.

“What? What kind of reason can there be not to inform us of where the heck this blasted manuscript is?” James yelled back.

“Calm down” I warned him, giving him a warning look.

“He has a point, though” commented Liam, “I am not saying that he has to trust us, but... “

He didn’t have the chance to finish this sentence, because Kenway readily replied: “Of course. You are the Mentor’s little lap dog, are you not? I am more than sure you will inform him of every little detail of our trip”

“He is” I said, trying to play down the rather unkind comment, “But neither he, nor any of us has any intention of tricking you. You can be sure of that”

“I hope so” was his brief- and rather cold- answer.

An uncomfortable silence fell on the group. What was he playing at? First, he agreed to join us, but specifying that this mission had to be quick and stealthy. And now? My biggest fear was arguing with my companions. It is vital to keep the group unite during a mission, especially one as delicate such as ours. Luckily, the thing was solved. At least, for a while.

“We will set course for the West Indies. You will tell us when it is time to turn left or right” John said in the end, and we all took our position.

 The mood remained rather grim for the rest of the day.

* * *

“I really don’t understand it, Liam” I commented as my first mate stepped in the Captain’s cabin and closed the door.

“What? Why Kenway is so mysterious about the artefact or why he and Ziio share the same cabin?”

I decided to ignore the second bit for now. “We decided to collaborate. Yet he’s spent the whole day on the upper deck without even speaking a word. Not a single word, mate. That is worrying”

“It’s only normal. He doesn’t know us at all” he replied, and took a seat right in front of me. “Speaking of which... I notice another person who is not speaking a word to you. Has something happened?”

I looked elsewhere. “No, nothing I can recall”

“Come on, Shay. I know that something happened between you and Hope. You can’t deny it”

“Nothing concrete, Liam. We’ve only.... done some talking”

“And it hasn’t ended up in the best of the ways?” he asked.

I sighed and simply shook my head. “It’s pretty evident, is it not?”

“Take heart, brother. She will come around once she sees your infallible technique in piloting this ship. You know that women are charmed by seeing men... at work”

I let out a dry laugh and leaned towards him.

“You must know something about that. _Especially_  when it comes to... action, as you say”

Liam smirked and looked away. Even though he wanted to look proud, his cheeks had taken a reddish hue.

“You can say that”

“I knew you were going to end up with another Assassin, mate. And quite a mistress she is” I commented appreciatively. Finally, Liam had found a lover. After almost a year, he had managed to get over the breakup which had left him broken-hearted and miserable.  His new girlfriend was none the less than the fascinating but stern-looking archery teacher.

 “And how is she on more... practical grounds?” I asked him.               

“Well. You can imagine” he began, leaning forward with a wide grin. However, he didn’t have the chance to begin his speech as in that moment we noticed that someone else had entered in the room.

 “Hope...” I stammered, seeing her on the doorframe. She was looking pale and beautiful in the dim light of the moon that came from the outside.

“Well, if you two are done gossiping... Who’s going to take the wheel for the night?”

“I will” I said, and I stood up readily.

“Hope, you’d rather assist him” added Liam, “we wouldn’t want him to fall asleep on the helm”

“It’s been a rather long day. He’d best retire and sleep” she said without looking turning her head in my direction. This attitude particularly hurt me. What had I done wrong? Maybe I hadn’t been very careful, but I definitively did not deserve this treatment. She had discretely ignored me for all day long, but now she was looking... annoyed by the prospect of spending an hour or two with me. Not that we’d be alone.

“Nonsense” said Liam patting me friendly on the shoulder.

* * *

 “So... “ I began after fifteen minutes of ghostly silence. She was standing on my right, in the place Liam usually occupied. “What do you think about Kenway’s behaviour?”

“I think he is running away from his Templar brothers for some reason” she said simply.

“Really? Why, though? I have heard that his father was an Assassin- If he doesn’t want to be a Templar anymore, why not join us?”

“That’s not as easy as that, and you know it”

“But fighting for a cause that you don’t feel yours...”

“Which is, exactly what you were doing up until a few months ago”

“I can’t believe you are accusing me of this now” I growled, shaking my head in disbelief. I steered the ship rather violently and then tuned to look at her.

“I am not accusing you. It is a statement”

“I can’t see why you have to be angry with me for... for what I have told you” I blurted. As I pronounced these words,  I felt my heart beating like mad into my chest. God, what was I doing? How could it be possible that a woman could have such an effect on me?

“I have no idea about what you are talking about”

“I do. Very clearly”

It was so evident that she was lying that I did not even bother to make her notice that.

“Just tell me. Is it self- imposed or did someone force you to hide your feelings? Never commit to anyone, not even for one day”

She let out a sharp laugh. “What makes you think that I like you, Shay?”

“I have not... I have not said that you like me” I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down and keep my heads steadily on the helm. “I just don’t think it possible that you never took interest in anyone. God, Hope. You are a woman!”

“I don’t want to talk about it. That’s none of your business”

“Right it’s not”

I raised my eyes to the sky and looked at the stars. Just a few years before, under the same stars and floating on the same sea, I had fallen in love with her. But that’s another story. When I looked down again, she had climbed down the stairs and had taken a seat on the deck, far away from me.

* * *

The weeks that followed were no better than the first one. The atmosphere among us remained rather cold, especially on the Templar’s side. His only company and interlocutor was usually Ziio, with whom he spent most of the day. And also, night, it seemed. No one really felt like dwelling on that specific topic, especially not when John was around. He was my most frequent company during our first part of the trip. We usually ended up silently staring at the sky, thinking about our broken hearts. I didn’t know for how long I could have stood to look at Hope sitting so far away from me for all night long. Luckily, the zephyrs and the winds blew angrily in the Morrigan’s sails, as if they wanted to relieve us from our anxieties and pains. In less time than expected, we finally arrived in Havana.

 

"How long will you be gone?" Asked the Templar Grand Master, walking in an apparently casual way towards us.. 

I froze into place. I was alone on the deck with James and Liam, which were also the most hostile ones towards our guest. If I were not careful, the sunny day was doomed to turn into hell.

"How long will  _we_ be gone _"_ I carefully corrected him.

_"_ Ihave no business here, so I will wait on the ship until you return".

"No. You're wrong, sir" interrupted Liam, "you're the whole point of it. You're actually the reason why we are in Havana at present".

_Great._ Exactly what I wanted to avoid.

"Well... I was not aware of it, nor I can find a reason why we should stop here"

"We need to meet a prominent exponent of the Brotherhood" my first mate said simply. 

"Oh, no. I have not the least intention to waste my time this way. Furthermore, I thought we have been fairly clear on the matter of Assassin, or Templar meetings" he said. His voice was harsh and his expression did not leave space for complaints. However, this hostilities did not seem to affect Liam.

"Mentor's orders"

"Your mentor has no authority on me. I insist that we continue in this direction"

"I am afraid that is impossible" insisted Liam. "We follow our superior's instruction. Otherwise, our little allegiance finishes here"

"Right, then. Are you blackmailing me?" The Templar asked, walking right in front of Liam. "If you mean to impose your authority on me, you are sourly wrong. I will not let an ignorant Assassin such as yourself get into the way of things"

I braced myself to the helm. I expected a tremendous response from Liam. 

Instead, he smirked.  "Really? That, we will see. These are the conditions. We disembark in Havana, and you will ride with us to our destination. Afterwards, we will come back here and you will... Honour us with the information regarding the location of the Manuscript”

“Else, I have the feeling that not all of us will come back home _alive_ ” added James.

"On this point at least, we agree"

* * *

We didn't specify that it was Adewale we were meeting. Even though some of us had a vague idea that the Grandmaster could guess, we decided to be on the safe side and keep that information for ourselves. 

As we rode through the crowded streets of Havana, I tried to spy Hope with the corner of my eyes. She was riding right next to me, but her gaze was focused on the street, blind to my silent stares.

"Since you look like the only person with a speck of a brain in this group, would you please make me a favour and tell me where it is that we are going?" The Grand Master asked John.

In return, my friend produced a dry hint of laugh and turned to him. "Funny, isn't it? Now you understand how unnerving your continence regarding our destination is. Walking with a blindfold, that's it".

"So you won't tell me, will you?"

"None of us will, I'm afraid"

Those were the last words someone spoke for quite a long time. However, as soon as we approached the forest’s outskirt, I felt the urge to speak with Liam.

“Are you sure this is wise?” I asked him, “We don’t even know if Adewale has been informed of the visit. I mean, there has not been the _time_ to inform him of our arrival”

“Mentor’s orders” he replied simply, not even bothering to turn his head and look at me.

“Really? Is this your answer?” I asked with indignation, “You just execute without even thinking about the fact that we might be leading our worst enemy into the Caribbean Assassins’ very core?”

“I thought you trusted the man as much as you trusted me. You even allowed him to _steer_ the ship, Shay” my friend answered me, his voice full of mock. It was his attitude most of all which got on my nerves.

“I can’t believe this is your answer, Liam” I growled ferociously, and I was ready to halt my horse and confront him, if only John hadn’t had his say.

“Our Mentor knows what he is doing. You know that he’s a prudent man. If Achilles has bestowed this specific task on us, it means he has considered the matter already” John said.

At this point, I did not know what to think. John had always been a wise man, and he surely had a fair share of reason. Still, I was not fully convinced about the reason why Adewale and our Mentor could have spoken about Kenway in terms other than ‘how do we kill him’.

“Is there something I am missing?”

“There is more than ‘something’ you are not aware of, Shay” Hope said, looking at me, and then she spur her horse forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment if you did, I appreciate that really much!


	12. Lead the way!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a new chapter. Thank you all for your support! It means a lot to me!

The journey in the woods was not one of the easiest. Much to my surprise, we met no patrol nor Assassin guard on our way, but the ground was uneven and the horses refused to carry on walking as soon as they spotted a muddy patch or rock along the way.

“Spoiled horses” complained James as he pulled the reins of his horse in a desperate attempt to make him walk in the hot waters of the river.

“No point in that” sighed Kenway, “We have to leave the horses here if we want to go on on this path”

An awkward silence followed that statement. Kenway had spoken an uncomfortable truth, and I felt rather stupid not to have considered the nature of the soil before embarking on this journey on horseback.

 “What happens now?” asked Ziio as she looked around her worriedly.  

“Someone needs to remain here with the horses” Liam said plainly, “they can’t go on from this point on, and we can’t force them”

“What an intelligent idea. And how exactly are you planning to come back here once we are done? As far as I know, it could take hours to walk wherever the hell we are going. Just imagine getting back!” Kenway blurted out in return.

“Woah, woah. The Grandmaster has an easy temper” James goaded him.

“Stop it already”. Hope said in an attempt to cut it short.

“You are a branch of idiots. I bet you don’t even know where it is that we are going” the Templar growled ferociously, looking accusingly at me.

“Calm down, Haytham. I am sure they know what they are doing” said Ziio, stretching her arm forward to touch his, “Only, we need to sort this out”

“Listen to you, Ziio. You have _succumbed_ to his charm. Now you are even forgetting on whose side you are!” yelled James. God, what a character he was. However, no one reproached him. We all felt too tired to argue to start even another fight, especially where there was the chance the Grandmaster could flee away from us. Furthermore, being covered from head to foot in muck did not help to improve the situation much.

“Now you are behaving like a child. Let her be” finally said John in a calm tone, but not to much avail.

The chaos was about to degenerate, and I knew well that if that was the case, there was but a little chance left to see us reach our destination safely and get hold of the Manuscript.. And all of this for a couple of stubborn horses and a paddle of mud.

“Alright, time’s over!” I screamed, juxtaposing myself between them, “We have a problem and we’d better solve it quick. Arguing will get us nowhere”

“Here comes the genius” laughed Kenway.

“Still, The Templar has a point” said John, retreating into his wall of silence while stealing a furtive glance at Ziio.  She intercepted his eyes and angrily pushed both her hands against the Templar’s chest, as to shove him away.

“You _are_ behaving like a baby. I am disappointed”

“Hear, hear!” echoed James. I poked him in the ribs, but he still (over) enjoyed his meagre victory.

“I am sorry. I.... I did lose my temper a little. Yet the fault was not exclusively mine” Kenway said apologetically.

“If your tantrums are over, we would very much like to carry on” stated Hope dryly.

“Indeed” joined in a new voice. The tone was husky, almost wild. However, there was something strangely comforting in the way those few words were pronounced: a veil of sweetness behind an apparently harsh personality. There was just one person in the whole world who had such a voice.

A quick smile appeared on my lips as a hooded figured appeared in front of our eyes.

“Haytham Edward Kenway. I’ve been eager to make you acquaintance for the last thirty years”

“Adewale” the Templar stated simply.

* * *

All our problems were somewhat put aside by the miraculous appearance of Adewale. The reason why he amazed the Templar Grand Master to that point, nobody can say. However, from that moment on, our alleged enemy did not speak one single word, and much to my surprise, Adewale did lead us inside the core of his Brotherhood.

“I trust this location will remain confidential once your work with the Assassin is done” he said to Kenway.

“Of course”

“And shall you ever return here as my enemy, please do not injure the people who live here”

“Consider it done”

How? How could Adewale have such power on him? I really couldn’t understand that. He had never paid any attention to me when I was a recruit, and he did not seem to be aware of the presence of half the group even now. Why then be so kind to Kenway? I did not like this.

“Do you already know the man?” I asked Kenway as soon as he slowed down to let Adewale lead the way.

“I don’t”

“Yet you recognised him”

He did not answer. His eyes were fixed in front of him rather proudly.

“He is a good man. Most Assassins are, actually” I carried on speaking, hoping to warm the atmosphere up a bit, “You should know that better than me, really. So... do you mind me asking you why you didn’t join the Assassin considering that you father was such an important member of the Brotherhood?”  

These words caught his attention. He abruptly turned his head towards me and regarded me with his most ferocious look. “And what would you know?”

“Are you kidding me? Your father is a celebrity!” I exclaimed. I had expected an anger outburst. Instead, his nervous curiosity made me feel strangely powerful.

“A... celebrity?” he said, voice full of consternation. Then, trying to avoid my colleagues’ eyes, he grabbed my arm and forced me to stop, but he did so in a kind manner. “What about that?”

For a moment, I felt puzzled. Was it possible that Haytham knew nothing about his father being one of the most famous pirates of him time?

“Hey, you two! Are you planning a love escape or does Kenway need someone to hold his hand while he pisses?” called James. He was immediately reproached by Liam, who readily twisted his arm, making hi scream.

“Are you a complete idiot?” Then he turned towards Adewale, his face hectic with shame, and apologised. Surprisingly enough, though, Adewale looked amused. He, too, stopped, and exhibited a very thin smile.

“This is nothing compared to what Edward used to say. I don’t expect he adopted such foul language in London, too. Did he, Haytham?”

This time, it was Ziio’s turn to startle. She looked at Haytham with eyes full of suspicion, then she hissed something in Mohawk.

“What are you saying, Ziio?” I asked her.

“He never told me. All this time and he missed this little detail”

“What? What are you talking about?” Haytham exclaimed in a strange pitch. So Ziio did have an effect on him.

“You never told me about your father”

“I did!”

The situation was getting embarrassing. I looked around and I read the same consternation I was feeling printed upon my friends’ faces. It felt like assisting to an argument between husband and wife.

“No, you didn’t. You forgot to tell me that your father was the captain of the Jackdaw!”

 

* * *

_13 th of July, 1731_

_Dearest Adewale,_

_I am happy to announce you that my target is dead. Oliver Crow has died by my blade this very night. As I write you, the house around me is silent. Oh, dear friend! I am feeling such content in my heart that I can hardly describe it. I know that, as I am printing there words on paper, my wife and son are sleeping peacefully in their rooms, safe and undisturbed. Unfortunately, Jenny is not as happy as I’d like her to be. Whereas Caroline was a revolutionary mind, I am afraid that my Jenny is just an ordinary girl. I apologise for these cruel words towards my own flesh and blood, but that is the plain truth. However, I love her all the same.  Oh, Ade! Could you see my youngest son, the light of these tired eyes of mine! Haytham is an extraordinary child. I am looking forward the day you will meet him.  I have told him all about you, but for now, you are just the protagonist of the childish tales I tell him.  The legendry Adewale ... can you believe that? I’d love to see his face when I’ll tell him that you actually existed, and were one of my best friends._

_I hope everything is fine with you, and that you have finally decided to give up at least part of your work and build up a family. It is important that you do, my friend. You need to have a life of your own besides.... well, you know what. So please tell me that you have finally found a girl and that you are in love._

_Edward._

_P.S.: Haytham knows nothing about  my past, and I dread the day I’ll have to tell him.. What should I do, my friend?_

 

Young Haytham trembled with delight upon reading those words written on a coarse paper. He was kneeling on the floor of his father’s studio, the silk of his expensive nightgown rolled up his legs. His little arms were trembling with excitement at the discovery she had made. So it was true! Adewale did exist after all!

Suddenly, his ears detected a noise coming from the room nearby. If someone had found him there, it would surely mean trouble. Without hesitating, he stood up and bolted outside, but before leaving the room he grabbed the letter and carried it with him.

The disappearance of the letter cause more trouble than expected. On the following day, the whole house was searched from top to bottom, and Edward remained rather moody for the rest of the morning,

“Well, never mind!” he exclaimed in the end, and discarded the matter as an accident.

* * *

“So you’re telling us that he has never told you anything about his adventures, and his crew, and...”  James began, but he was immediately cut out by Adewale’s calm gaze.      We were now sitting on the ground around a small fire, and everyone was looking at the Grandmaster as he spoke. Surprisingly enough, I noticed that his cheeks were slightly red as he told his story aloud.

“I can’t believe he has no idea about who is father is” John whispered in my ear.

“Me neither. It must be terrible”

“So how did you recognise me when you saw me? I could have been anyone” Adewale asked.

“I had the description from my father’s tales. He said there was some power about you, and that I would feel it. Only... my father never told me that you have dark skin”

“And what’s wrong with that?” it was James again, alert because his skin was pretty dark, too,  “You racist scum!”

“Calm down, friend. No one said that it’s a bad thing” said Hope patiently. I stole a glance at her as she spoke, but I turned away as soon as it was the Templar Grandmaster’s turn to speak again.

“I have no racial prejudice. I might have my failures, but I am not as stupid as that”

After this exchange, silence fell heavily on us. It was clear that there was still a lot to be said, yet no one dared to begin.

“So, Haytham. Are you going to find out who your father really was?”

It was Liam who spoke these words, and as soon as he had uttered them I understood why the Mentor had sent us here. While Adewale spoke of mistakes and redemption, I saw Haytham’s face brighten up, then becoming dark again, then suddenly a sparkle of hope gleamed in his eyes; curiosity spilled from every inch of him. One minute he looked excited, the next, sorry, then happy again, then angry. His face never remained the same during that time: it was a kaleidoscope of emotions, of mixed truths finally conquered after a lifetime of struggling. Finally, when the light sent the soft shadows to bed and the only source of sight we had were the dying embers of the fire, Adewale hushed: his story was over. He had spoken for over four hours.

This time the silence felt comfortable. I looked at my friends, who were still thinking about the words uttered by Adewale. Only Hope seemed distracted, her gaze shifting on the trees around us. For a moment, I spotted her looking at me, but maybe I was mistaken. Ziio was still sitting next to Haytham, caressing his hand as they silently exchanged words I could not hear. Right then, I envied them. It was so clear that they loved themselves that my heart ached with longing. Why couldn’t I have the same luck as them? Why did I have to suffer?

My meditation was interrupted by Adewale. “Let us go. The Assassins are waiting for us not too far away. There is a proper lodging awaiting for you there, as well as food and women ready to provide you with assistance”

“Are there not _men_ ,too, to look after us?” asked James maliciously.

“Shut up, James. You are embarrassing us” growled John, pushing him forward, “I am sure he did not mean it _that_ way”

“What would _you_ know, dear brother? I doubt you’ve ever even-“ he didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence as Liam regarded him with an extremely severe look. For the first time since the beginning of our journey, we all burst into laughter.

* * *

“I didn’t expect it to go so well”

I startled. I had been looking at the stars for a long time now, and Ziio was the last person  I expected to see there.

“It did” I said as she came nearer to me and looked at the same direction as I did.

“I am glad that you have decided to do this, Shay. It would have been difficult for me if you hadn’t proposed this alliance”

“Are you in love with him?” I asked after a short while. “Well, that’s a silly question. It is fairly clear that you do”  
“I love him” she whispered, more to herself than to me. “I wish this could last forever”

“Who says it can’t?”

“We are too different. I have my tribe to protect, and he has his Templars. I can’t forget where my loyalty stands, either” her face looked sad now. “He is a man of honour, Shay. It is a pity that he works with those wretched men”

“Who knows? Maybe he’ll get the chance to change his side”

She let out a dry laugh. “Haytham is too proud. He wouldn’t accept becoming a low-ranking Assassin”

“He is skilled. He can do more”

“Achilles will never trust him”

“He has already. By sending him here. I was so blind as to believe that he wanted him dead. I am often mistaken on his account”

“He is a good man. As Haytham is”

I sighed and looked at the sky again. The moon was partially covered by a giant cloud. The whole world was sleepy, and I felt restless.

“You look troubled”

“That’s because I am”

She moved a few steps toward and began to undo her braids. “You’re always troubled. Even though you look calm and happy on the surface, there is always a sad gloom about you. I can feel it”

“Are you a sort of priestess?” I tried to joke, but what she had said sent the creeps down my spine.

“No. But I can see that something troubles you”

“Isn’t Haytham waiting for you?” I asked, driving the conversation away from this topic. Suddenly, she became rigid.

“No one must know” she whispered.

“Everyone knows already, actually”  
“I mean, back at home. If someone from the village knew that I ... “ she pointed her dark eyes on me, and I read worry in them, unable to go on.

“I see”  
“No, you don’t. Ours is a small community, much smaller than yours. They would never forgive me”

“What fault is there in loving a man?”  
“It is not any man. If it were a boy from my village, I’d be allowed to do more or less what I wanted. We’re not as full of formalities as your people are. But Haytham is a powerful, dangerous white man”

“Silly, isn’t it? ‘White men’ are so often full of prejudices towards natives, and in your turn you despise us, too”

* * *

We decided to spend half of the following day among the Caribbean Assassins, so it was late in the afternoon that we left the bureau to get back to our ship.

“I will never forget you, Adewale. The time I have spent with you taught me more than I have in thirty years of investigation about my father”

“You are welcome, son. Feel free to come back whenever you want. The Brotherhood will treat you as one of our own”

Then they hugged. Two mortal enemies embracing themselves like members of the same family. No one questioned the words of welcome Adewale had spoken. It was clear though that even when Haytham had gone back to his old life, he would never forget this day.

* * *

“So what happens now?” I asked once we got to the shore. The Morrigan was waiting for us, her sails wide opened and glimmering in the evening sky.

“It’s time to say goodbye, I fear” Liam said, coming towards me and patting my shoulder. Both he and Ziio were due to go back and recruit as many natives as they could on their way home. “I’ll leave you in the hands of the Captain, here. I can assure you he’s not a complete idiot after all” I grinned to him, too, but I began to feel longing blossoming in my mind. I was going to miss him.

“Treat him well” he said passing next to Hope. I didn’t miss that.

“Is there no chance that you will bring this piece of jewellery with you, is there?” said Haytham, pointing at James. This time, though, his voice was full of mock.

“Hey!” he protested.

“I agree. However, I am sure James will enjoy any place we’ll head to, as long as there is ale.... and boys” I said.

“Yes, man! And I do pray we are going South” James replied.

“It is time I go, too” said Ziio, her voice low but full of determination. “Please behave well. All of you”

“What are you implying?”  
“Come on, Ziio! We will come back safely”

“And then we’ll have a barbecue”

“And you’ll be the one to cook”

“Yes, please! You know how much John likes your cooking”

“Hope! Shut up!”

“It’s true. Everybody likes Ziio’s cooking”  
“And nobody yours”

“Dare say that again!”

Voices blurred into chattering. Without really acknowledging it, we were all joking with each other, patting our shoulders, planning the activities to do once we got home. All of a sudden, I felt reality slip away from my hands and my vision blurred slightly. Words began swimming in a sky of their own, far away, eluding my grip.

_Lisbon._

I tried to breath, but air fled away from my mouth. As always when I got one of these moments, I saw nothing but destruction around me, and the only sounds that my ear grasped were screams of pain... Then a strong hand gripped my shoulder. “Shay. Are you alright?”  
“Yes. It’s fine” I breathed out, shifting my vision to make sure that I was not dreaming and then sighed in relief. It was only a small attack. I thanked John for assisting me, and the I joined the group again.

“Alright, time to go” called Liam. I nodded and then shook his hand one last time.

“He’s right. Let’s get onboard” I called.

I was the first one to do so, and then I held out a hand to help Hope, but she readily refused with a smile. “I can do this by myself” she said, and added in a whisper, “I’ll take the turn with you until morning”

On came all the others, and as drunk of happiness as I was because of Hope’s words, I held out my hands to all of them.

“Come on Shay, you’re pathetic!” joked James.

“Thank you but I don’t need your help” said John.

Then, I stretched my arm forward for the last time. On the shore, Haytham looked at me for a long moment. His grey eyes were almost blue in the dying light of sunset. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, then he suddenly turned his head and, muttering something incomprehensible, he took Ziio’s hand in his and then kissed her on the lips.

No one dared to speak for a long moment. It was a rather intimate kiss, chaste but so full of passion that I felt my cheeks burn.

“Hear, hear! Haytham has a girlfriend, and I’m still empty-handed!” cried James.

We all laughed heartily. Ziio and Haytham, too, both blushing, both radiating with joy.

Our new friend finally motioned me to help him up, and once he set foot on the ship he immediately looked down again to look at his beloved.

“Ziio’s had a nice catch, I must say” James kept commenting, but Hope sent him below deck before he surpassed the limit with obscenities, which given the circumstances were easily to place in a conversation.

“Anchor!” I screamed, waving at Liam for the last time. Then, as I focused on the sea in front of me, I spotted John’s face. He was not laughing with us.

“Do you at least know where it is that we are going?” he asked with a cold voice.

“I....”

“Mexico. We are going to Mexico” said Haytham, removing his hat and throwing it into the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! If so, please leave a comment : )


	13. An Interesting Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this new chapter! If you did, please leave a comment! I am very happy to see that you like my work and I'm always very grateful to receive support! :)

 

The sun was unmercifully hot during the first weeks of July. Even though we had been sailing for a couple of days, I already knew that we were running short on water and food.

"I can see land" said Haytham as he climbed the stairs to stand next to me

"That's because it is land we are looking for" as I spoke I stirred the ship left, but the heat was so intense that the helm hurt the palm of my hands.

"It is never as hot as this in England"

"That's good. But not for a sailor. There's nothing better than a cold swim in the sea when the air gets hardly breathable"

On mornings like this, when I watched Haytham walk up and down the deck, I thought I was living in a dream. Our alliance had proved to resist all odds until now; we were also becoming friends. To think of how we all sat together at dinner at night, chatting and forgetting our war was almost like telling a fairytale. Mankind is really a wonder.

* * *

 "Let's split up. I will see to get the fire-power, you see to the goods" said John once we got on land. His face was dark and moody, very unlikely of him. However, he'd been in a mood since we'd left Havana.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"We should have done this last time we stopped. We're losing time and I want to be damn finished with this"

"Well... I guess so. Only, we didn't have much time back then"  
"Enough already. Let's get going"

Before I could deepen the matter, he was already walking away.

'Whatever... we'll sort this out later' I thought, moving towards the harbour master to get what I needed.

About half an hour later my men were loading the ship with all the necessary to last at least for another month. We had a long way to go and the sea was going to be rough, so we had to be sure to be ready for every inconvenience.

Just as I was paying what I was due, something caught my eye.

If we had been by the river or in the proximity of the market, I wouldn't have been attracted by those colours. However, the shop I was in was a dark chamber filled with boxes which allowed but a little light to come in, and the walls were as brown as the trunk of a tree. So the four individuals wearing bright, eccentric uniforms did catch my attention.

I had never seen someone wearing shirts of such a light shade of yellow. As for their trousers... they were _orange_. Hardly to go unnoticed. Stifling a laugh, I wondered what kind of officer would allow these uniforms to be worn. Maybe they were even part of the local police.

"Hey there. What are you looking at?" One of them asked me in a rather kind manner. He had caught me staring, so I thought I was due for an answer.

"I am impressed, sir. I like your outfit" I said in a convincing manner. Maybe not convincing enough, because the shopkeeper started to giggle. The men however paid him no mind.

"Do you?"

"I do. The colours you wear are the same as the birds of the Amazon"

The stranger looked pleased, unbeknown of my actual intention: that of making fun of him. I needed to do something silly: I had been rather too serious in the past months.

"That's nice" he said, then he looked around for a moment and it seemed that he had completely forgotten about me and the rest of the Earth. His companions contemplated the room in a similar fashion.

'Queer fellows' I thought, and then I turned mu back in an attempt to get out.

"Are you a hunter?" this time it was another one of the group who spoke. I noticed that he had horrible red suspenders.

"I... am not. I only feed on vegetables. And mushrooms" I replied, nodding as if I had just spit out a secret of primary importance.

Right then, just when I enjoyed an approving nod from the whole group, a hand slapped on my shoulder.

"Shay! Where the hell have you been! Do you reckon that it is late?" It was John, once again dragging me in the real world.

I tried to point the strange fellows with my hand, hoping to discover more of their curious whereabouts (and eventually have some more fun), but the Assassin's expression forced me to follow him after having waved them goodbye.

  

"What on earth do you think you were doing?" he asked me once we were out.

"I was enjoying myself"  
"Enjoying yourself? Those people are clearly out of their minds! You could have got into trouble"

"I appreciate your concern..."

"It's not just about _you_ , Shay. Can't you see it? You're holding this whole thing together!" he exclaimed, but his voice half failed him. So I decided to stop, and I sat on the sandy shore.

"Will you really tell me what it's wrong, or will we keep on like thins until we get home?"

" _If_ I get home"

"What do you mean?" I said, and this time I was determined to know.

" This is going to be my last mission with you." He blurted suddenly after a short pause. Then he added a few dreadful words. "I am leaving the Assassins"

"What?" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Is it about Ziio and Haytham? Is it really?"

"Listen to you: Haytham. He is Kenway, Shay, the Grandmaster of the Templar Order, brought to us by none other than Reginald Birch, the man who had my family hanged!" Even though his tone was rather calm, his face was red and sweated. "So Please forgive me if I am ... _reluctant_ to join your merry chatter at dinner. Forgive me if I can't like him. But I will say one thing"

I didn't dare to speak. I was frozen into place. "John..."

"If you are determined to carry on with this, Shay, get him by your side. God knows if the Assassins don't need a man like that"

* * *

 I kept on thinking about John's words for a long time after our argument. This time, as I steered my ship in the dying light of dawn, I stayed very quiet.

"Not very talkative this evening, are you?" Hope asked me. I had barely acknowledged her presence until then.

"No, not very much"  
"Some reason in particular?"

"Not that I can think of"

"You've always been such a terrible liar"

I enjoyed the short silence that followed before answering: " I didn't know you knew me so well"  
"So we are finally getting a clue about where it is we are headed to" she said abruptly, diverting our attention towards a less personal topic.

"Indeed. Master Kenway has decided to spill the beans and let us know names and facts at last"  
"Mr Kenway? I thought we had switched to using first names"

"We have. It's just... don't you think we are forgetting who we are, Hope?" I tried to sound casual, but my voice was more serious than usual.

"Now, now. We are inverting roles, aren't we? I was supposed to be the one worried about this, not you"

I allowed myself to look away from the horizon and take a glance at her. Her cheeks were reddened by the light wind, her hair messing around her face which finally showed a relaxed expression. As always, she was sitting on a barrel just behind my shoulder and her eyes scrutinised mine with the same interest I showed. Was there a chance for us after all? I wasn't going to let myself down.

* * *

 

The meeting was held in my cabin right after dinner. We had decided to stop for the night this time as the wind was getting rough and a storm was likely to come up soon. So we all took place around the large table, willing and anxious to receive more information.

"Our target's name is Rodrigo Escobar. He is a high-ranking Templar, presently living in Mexico"  
"The waters around there are rather dangerous" I commented, walking to the globe as an excuse to pass right next to Hope.

"There are things far worse than that coming, I am sure" Haytham went on, "as a matter of fact, I don't have the certainty that the Manuscript is still in his possession"

"Well, well, then this whole merry trip will be for nothing" John growled under his breath. The Grandmaster ignored him.

"I had William Johnson write to him personally as soon as the Manuscript became one of our priorities. He never wrote back, but we are sure that the damn thing is in his possession... or at least, has been"  
"What if he is dead? Or fled away?" James asked.

"We would have known"

"God, I didn't know the Templars infested that area as well..."

"Don't you have a Brotherhood there?"

"Not yet, but we will be sure to set up something after this" Hope said, finally raising her eyes to meet mine with a kind scolding expression, as if my attention was bothering her. Anyway, she had noticed, and so must have my friends too,

"That is not all, is it?" I added after a while, noticing Haytham's absent-mindedness.

"No. That is not all"

"What is it, then? Are you going to tell us?"

"I am going to tell you all, James. The matter is... they say that Rodrigo has grown rather... insane during these last years. He's gradually locked himself away from the world and has escaped both society and the civilised world"

"What? Do you know what is worse than a conceited and self-important Templar? A freak one. And this guy totally sounds like one"

"Thank you really much for this piece of art, James" John said ironically, but I could see that he was thinking deeply on the matter. "So how are we sure he is going to recognise you and give you the manuscript?"

"That is the whole point. We have to set up a plan contemplating some different options, such as what to do in case he understands I am the enemy, or if he doesn't want to let us in"

"Wait. Have you heard what you have just said?" I asked him, interrupting his sentence half- way.

"What?"

"You have said, ' _I_ am the enemy'. It looks like..."

"It looks like you are becoming one of us" Hope finished for me.

"Have no illusions, friends. The day will come when he'll pierce us through with his Templar sword, forgetting all past debts"

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic, John?" Haytham asked, turning his back to look at him and actually trying to understand what was wrong.

"Isn't that right? I bet you'd be able to kill your own son if he juxtaposed himself between you and the Templars, wouldn't you?" he looked at him straight in the eye. I swear, in that precise moment I felt a shiver run down my back. John's words did not mean to insult or attack him; they were more like a prophecy. My friend had foreshadowed one possible twist of the road in Haytham's future, unless we were still in time to change it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What will happen next? Updates are coming up soon!


	14. At last, my friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very sorry for the long absence! School kept me very busy, but I am confident I’ll have more time to write from now on. If you enjoy my work, please leave a review, it means a lot to me! :)

The sky had finally calmed down on our twelfth day of navigation. After a rather plain morning, the wind was beginning to blow again, tousling my hair with its airy fingers and gently filling the mains so that the Morrigan was beginning to take up some desirable speed.

“So what are you planning to do once we reach land?” Haytham asked me.

I didn’t hear him at first, as I was too busy sticking out my neck to look at Hope walking up and down the deck.

“I see. You have set your eyes on her”

“It’s been years now. Everyone knows it” James teased me.

“Shut up”

“The poor boy is right. It is meant to be a secret” John added playfully.

“Well, it is not, apparently. Everyone seems to know, except...”

“Except her?”

“She does know, Haytham. I have been rather explicit once, but she has avoided the topic skilfully”

“Who doesn’t know, then?” James kept on asking with his mouth full of whatever he was eating.

“Achilles doesn’t”

A burst of laughter followed. I turned back to see my friends enjoying the statement with surprising interest.

“Why are you laughing?” it was the Templar’s turn to ask.

“Well, you would laugh too if you knew our rather silly woman policy. And how much our Mentor is protective towards Hope”

“Do tell me, please. One at a time”

I shook my head and stirred the ship left so to avoid one of the numerous rocks that stack out from the sea. I was indeed enjoying myself.

“Well, Hope is like a daughter to him. He gets mad when men even look at her. And if he knew it was Shay, who fancies himself a playboy!”

“Hey! Don’t talk nonsense!” I tried to protest, but I knew too well that they were going to bring out _the story_.

“... and it all comes to the woman policy” John started. It was the first time he was speaking directly to Haytham in days.

“... or boy policy in my case” James added.

“Well, whatever. Women are *ahem* forbidden in the house. In the house where we live”

“And why is that?”

“Because we live- nevermind, you Templar. Well, one day Shay comes back from this fancy expedition in Havana-“

“Oh, boy. Not _that_ again”

“You need to understand, dear Templar, that he was still a boy. And I mean it: a boy with a stump of beard on his callow face. I doubt he had even talked to a real woman”

“So what?”

“So he comes back home all so proud of himself and goes bragging around that he has made _conquests_. You can imagine, no one believed him”  
“Liam didn’t and he was there with him. We had little or no reason for concern”

“Then, a few days later, it was inspection day, which means everyone lining up- well, these are Assassin details I can’t give you. Anyway...”

“Anyway” James resumed, lowering his voice to a whisper and forcing Haytham to lean forward to hear him, “Shay was absent. He hadn’t answered the call, and voices where heard that he was with a _woman_ in his room. A terrible scandal was to happen”

“Only?”

“Only it wasn’t a woman. It was a 12-years-old gypsy that had followed us on the ship and that I was hiding in my room waiting for her to find a way to leave” I concluded, curtailing the conversation as I saw Hope approaching.

“What is this little assembly?” She asked.

“Only remembering the time when Shay and his alleged lover were found in the same bed, soundly sleeping and totally clothed”

“Thanks for that, James”

“I remember, too. Liam was publically shamed for having covered you up, Shay”

“I know”

“Well, that doesn’t change the fact that.... well, be careful where you decide to take your stroll around the Manor grounds late at night... if you know what I mean...”

“James!” we all snapped. Why was he always so embarrassing?

No one spoke for quite a time after those words, and deep in my heart I knew everyone was thinking about home, about all the smiling and the grieving we were missing because of the distance from our friends. As our mood darkened, so did the sky: in a matter of an hour, threatening clouds began to appear at the horizon and the wind started blowing hard and angry. I had often heard about these sudden changes in the weather that occurred in that slice of sea, but I could never imagine how fast it could happen. The worst thing of all were the currents, uncommonly  irregular because of the rocks hindering their course and so strong that no man could have survived long in the midst of the water. 

Without asking a second opinion, I decided to stop the ship and wait for the situation to calm down.

“Drop anchor”’ I finally shouted to my crew, ready to leave the helm and join my men in closing up the mains.

“Impossible, sir!” came a shout from the crowd’s nest, “there’s a ship following us , and she looks pretty huge, too!”

"What? That is impossible! How come we didn't spot it before?" I shouted back, creeps slowly climbing up my spine.

“I couldn’t say, sir, the fog is too thick. No flag visible, either".

Just as my man had finished speaking those words, a loud blast was heard just a few feet away from the hull of our ship. So it was true. Someone was following us.

"A warning shot!" Shouted Haytham from behind my shoulder.

"Here comes Captain Obvious" John snapped, but I motioned him to be quiet. Truth be told, I felt completely unprepared for this. We had of course contemplated the possibility of an attack, but not like this. Not now. Not with this weather.

“What do we do now?” Hope asked, coming closer to the helm and waking me up from my thoughts.

“James! You take the wheel!” I shouted, then I motioned Hope to follow me on the deck. Without wasting a moment’s time, I unfolded the very old and crumpled map I had of the waters we were sailing through.

“According to what we can see around us, we are here” I said, pointing a finger on the yellow paper. The Morrigan was currently in a rather clear area, but right ahead and right behind us there were countless rocks and little islands perking from the sea.

"No surprise they managed to follow us though all this mess" she commented, frowning with concentration as she analysed the document, "the currents must have pushed her forward, but now..."

She never made to finish her sentence, for in that very moment a second blast echoed thought the sea.

"Listen, Hope. This is what we are going to do" I began. "We are going to keep sailing forward. It is not going to be easy as the passages narrow from now on and the manoeuvrability is very scarce" as I spoke, I traced the path we were going to take on the map, "but eventually the vessel following us won't be able to pass. But we will" 

Hope nodded. "We'd best get to work, then".

The time that followed was one of the most memorable of my entire life. Every one of the men onboard was busy: getting off water from the deck, tying up the ropes, straightening up the mains. Slowly, I steered the Morrigan through the bends of the path we had to follow. The lands surrounding us were by most chances uncontaminated and lethally dangerous because of the closeness to this raging sea. It was no surprise to us when I had to guide our vessel around a shipwreck and then away from another. Inside of me, I prayed not to end up like that. Not in these waters.

* * *

 

"End of the road! Stop the ship! We are going to collide!" 

Suddenly, everyone stopped, and I was sure I could feel everyone's blood freezing in the very same moment that screamed was heard from the crowd's nest.

"What did you say? Could you please repeat?" Asked Haytham, turning his hand upwards.

Luckily for us, my experienced hands had already steered the helm so that the ship could not hit whatever we had in front of us. 

"I said, stop! The passage is closed. The rocks close the passage!"

By the time we reached the end of the trail, the fog surrounding us was so thick that I could hardly spot the bowsprit. So here it came another surprise. At least this time we were sure it was going to be the last.

"What now?" It was John to talk this time, his voice as calm as usual. As if we weren't about to die in a foreign land among foreign waters.

"At least we are sure the ship is not following us any longer" Haytham commented. 

"Not so fast, friend. I am sure the damn thing is just behind us after all. It is cutting the wind out of this damn circle of land enclosing us!" James said with extreme cunning. 

'Right. It cuts the wind out...' I repeated in my mind. _Damn._

"Listen, everyone" I raised my voice and called up all the team. We still had some time to talk before the enemy reached us. With a certain relief I also observed that no one was accusing Haytham of having betrayed us. Not so far. "We need to stop the damn ship at the entrance of the channel. This area is surrounded by very small but tall heaps of rock. The only way the wind gets in here is though the opening we came from"

"Why would we even need to stop the wind?" Hope asked, looking straight at me.

"I thought that..." I began, but my plan to flee was never heard. Instead, James took the reins. 

"This ship doesn't intend to destroy us" he said. "If that was its purpose, it wouldn't have allowed us to get in here. And it wouldn't stop right there" he said, pointing his finger towards the ghastly figure of a man of war which had appeared just behind our backs. 

For a few moments after that revelation we remained silent. I thought about what my friend had just said, but his words felt far, like a distant echo into my mind. The only thing my brain focused upon during those moments of desperation was the image of the Morrigan in flames and my friends, screaming and drowning around me.

'I have deserved this. This is God's punishment for Lisbon' I thought as the world around me blurred and looked strangely black and white....

It was Hope's firm grip to bring me back to reality. After a little hesitation, I recognised that she hadn't noticed my dark moment, but she was rather anchoring to someone to chase away her own fear. For a long moment, I was tempted to stretch my arm forward and stroke her hair away from her face. I didn't. I spoke my mind instead.

"James is right. The ship is waiting for something"

"Maybe they want the Templar returned before they kill us. But you won't go, will you, Haytham?" James asked with a small smile, trying desperately not to appear offensive. 

"No. I.... They... They won't. I won't say. You won't say..." Haytham stammered, unable to conclude any sentence. 

"These aren't Templars" the voice from the crowd's nest announced again. It seemed like James II (that's how we called the man staying up there all day) had news. 

"How would you know?"

"Their flag is different. I have never seen one like that before"

"It looks like you should teach your man some geography" the Templar commented joke-fully. I could read relief on his face.

"Shut up. You're a sophisticated snob" I laughed back, but then I turned serious again. "Could you describe this flag for us?"

"It... It has a bird on it. A pink and light-blue bird. It looks like...."

"Looks like what?"

"Looks like a heron"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Haytham snapped, "there is no such flag. Not in the known world"

"Maybe you don't know it all. Even aristocrats can be wrong" John said, "or is it that your Templar friends like a good costume?" 

Haytham turned towards him, and this time I could see that he looked angered. He was about to snap something bad. Very bad. The John's face lightened us all at once.

"Of course! How could I not have imagined! It is them!"

"Who is 'them'?" Hope said impatiently, "hurry up and explain!"

"Shay got very interested in some singular guys who were by the harbourmaster when we docked. I remember now: they were exhibiting badges with a curious long-legged bird on their bags. I remember that well. And their colours were...."

"The colours of the flags are orange and green, sir!" James the Second screamed again. 

Perfect. It was all my fault. 

 


	15. A New Mistery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry for the long absence... this last period has been though for me... I will update more often in the future, I promise.   
> I would like you all for your reviews and comments. They really get me going!   
> I hope you enjoy :)

The rowboat spun for the tenth time on itself, rotating around a rather irregular axis and forcing me once more to bend on a side to avoid surrendering my oar to the waves. 

“We aren’t getting any closer!” Hope shouted by my side. To worsen the situation, rain poured copiously on our heads. It was a cold, merciless rain, as was the sea and the winds around us.

“We need to keep going” I replied, rubbing my eyes in a desperate attempt to dry them.

In the end the generally approved decision had been that Hope and I would climb on a rowboat and infiltrate straight in the enemy’s ship. Our task was either to talk with the captain or to destroy the vessel, depending on what we would find onboard. An impossible mission for most men. Only, we were anything but ordinary. We were Assassins.

The most difficult part of it all, however, seemed to be reaching the damn man of war through that endless fog.

“Here, I can see it!” Hope exclaimed, pointing a finger in front of her. “It is just a few feet away. We need to be silent, or they will hear us”

I nodded silently, then pulled the oars onboard. Without needing to talk, my friend passed me a harpoon and she took one herself.

“At the count of three. One. Two...”

The spears hit the wooden hull and penetrated its wet surface. I hadn’t dreamed for such an easy success, but I knew that it wasn’t over yet.

“The rope could be severed, or the spear break. We’d better be careful”

“How are we going to climb?”

I didn’t have an answer for that. “Well, since we aren’t introducing ourselves as enemies, I thought we could just call out....”

“No, Shay. These people could be robbers, killers or pirates. They might as well want to starve us out and then attack. If their intention was a meeting, they could as well have called it straightaway”

“You are right” I said, and right in that moment something caught my attention. Now that we had come so near to the ship itself, I spotted something extremely queer. Something I had never seen before in a ship.

“Hope... look. These people had windows built just above the ballast line”

“Ballast line?” she asked, confused.

“Yes. The line indicates the first layer of the ship to be afloat. Usually, the ballast is regulated depending on the cargo. However, these sailors are carrying always the same amount of cargo, any time of the year, whatever sea they sail”

“That doesn’t make sense”

“It doesn’t now. Let’s have a look before we decide what to do. You can climb from here. I will bring the rowboat around and inspect another area. Please be careful”

We exchanged a long look before she got up and prepared herself for jumping.

For a moment, I saw her finding the right words to say something... important. But in the end she didn’t let them fall out. “I’ll see you on the deck” she said simply.

\------

In the end I managed to bring the rowboat to a reasonable angle and climb rather high up so that I now was just below the upper deck, where the usual smell of  rotten wood, dirt, and human waste welcomed me. The latter was unbearable, taking over all the other smells and making me want to jump back where I came from. Thing that of course I didn’t: there was as a matter of fact something odd about the whole situation and which immediately draw my attention. There was absolutely no one in the whole area, nor  the usual chattering that sailors carried on day and night on ordinary ships could be heard. Only silence.

Stealthily, I began to move around to take a better look. The whole place was filled with rucksacks of various dimensions: some were huge and rough to the touch, others stank like chicken food, and others were so small that they would fit the palm of my hand. All of them had names written visibly on the front.

“Are you looking for something, friend?” a voice behind me asked.  I wasn’t taken by surprise, so I decided to act normally, as if it was my place to be there.

“I... I was just taking a look” I said, turning slowly towards the man.

John had been right in his guess: the person who began that conversation was dressed exactly like the men I had spoken with when I last refurnished the ship: yellow trousers, orange pants and a rather silly jacket that matched them in colour. The only difference I noticed was a badge the man wore proudly right on his chest: it represented a long-legged , blue- feathered bird spreading out his wings to the sky.

“I noticed you were inspecting Bernie’s sack. That’s good quality stuff in there, isn’t it?” he said with a small toothless smile. He spoke with pride, so I deduced that this ‘Bernie’ was an important fellow.

“And is he happy about it?”

“Oh, it’s actually a ‘she’. Yeah, you can say so. There’s a sparkle in her eyes when she sees me”

“Oh... good” I commented evasively, feeling more and more embarrassed as the minutes passed. There was something queer about that man, too, about his dreamy eyes and his total absent-mindedness...  as if he was somewhat slow. I was beginning to dislike the whole situation.

“I... I was wondering ....”

“Do you have black hair?” he asked all of a sudden, curtailing my sentence in the middle and turning serious. Very serious.

“I.... I guess so”

“And you are a sailor?”

“I am. I love the sea”

“Are you a whale hunter?”

“Where are all these questions coming from?”

“Are you a whale hunter?” he repeated, his unblinking eyes fixed on me.

“No. Of course not. I would never do something like that” I lied.

“Then you should get acquainted to Bernie. She would like you”

“I... certainly” I said, quietly beginning to make my way out of his sight.

“Wait” he called once more, “I will inform the others that you have black hair. They will be pleased!” he said with a cheer.

I smiled back, the certainty that that man was completely nuts growing stronger and stronger within me. ‘I need to find Hope and find a way to destroy the gunpowder reserves to blow this madhouse up. We need to get the hell away from here’ I thought as I kneeled behind a barrel to hide from a group of sailors who were sitting motionless just in front of me.

* * *

It took me a while to find an exit and when I finally landed my feet on the solid rope of the shrouds, I immediately decided that I needed a death to draw the captain out of his quarters and get a hint of the organization of that immense ship. My first aim was the crowd’s nest: it took but a few minutes for me to climb to the top and grab the poor look-out by the neck.

“What is wrong?” he exclaimed, his eyes filled with fear.

“What do you want with that ship over there?” I asked.  Who better than him should know?

“We are looking for a man”

This was quite enough of information for me.  Even though the looks in his eyes arouse no small amount of pity and remorse in me, I threw him down and took his place instead. My next move was that of grabbing the musket that had belonged to the poor soul and shoot the other look-out who was staring at me motionless from the other end of the masts. Then, without wasting another moment, I climbed down and, as soon as I got closer to the ground I jumped and embedded my hidden blade in a sailor’s chest. The battle had begun.

In a matter of minutes the whole deck began to crawl with people. In the midst of battle, I ended the lives of many brave warriors but I also witnessed a huge chaos of people running to and fro, terrified by blood yet no responsive enough to the threat to flee. Blood pooled down at my feet, mixing with the light rain falling from the sky and forming sticky puddles. Death was everywhere.

“Hope!” I called after a while as I noticed more and more people attacking me on all sides. “I can’t hold them for much longer!” I screamed louder, praying she would hear me.

“Oh, no! The ship’s on fire!” Someone screamed behind my back, and in the same moment I felt a pair of strong hands seizing my shoulders.

“Stop this madness! We know you are a good man!” someone said straight into my ear.

“He is like a lion! A tender kitten when feeling at ease, a fierce warrior under threat. He is the man we are looking for” said another.

“What the hell are you talking about!?” I screamed, wriggling away from his grip and realising that it was the colourful men who had finally decided to see what was going on. 

“Yes, you do” another man said, coming near to me and holding out a hand, “you will help us. You will fly, free as a swallow, when the time will come. We will spread out our wings and dominate the sky”

“You are insane!”. A strange calm pervaded me as I said so, because I knew perfectly what to do.

Slowly, I began to walk backwards. Those people had completely forgotten that up a few moments before I had slaughtered their mates: now they were persuasively talking with me, praying me to come forward.

“You will see, life here is good”

“You are a good warrior. You will protect us all right”  
“Have you seen a woman below deck?” I asked after a moment of hesitation.

“Yeah. She visited Margie. She’s gone long ago”

“Oh... charming” so I deduced that these men travelled with a whole packet of prostitutes since these women where nowhere to be seen but below decks.

“It was charming to get to know you” I said once I reached the edge, “but if you excuse me-“

“No, no! Get him, get him!” someone screamed as soon as they realise that I was holding onto the wood of the railing and ready to jump. Too bad for me: in a matter of seconds, a group of four or five men was already on me, clinging to my clothes and holding me back.

“Leave the ship burn, but we need him alive!” I heard one of them scream.

“No! Leave me be!”

“Shay!”

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I had gotten into.

“Shay!”

This time I opened my eyes wide only to see the Morrigan standing about thirty yards away from me and John screaming something I could not hear. In a last, desperate attempt to get free of the arms suffocating me, I grabbed my flintlock with and with the little strength I had left in my limbs I freed an arm from that juggle of bodies and aimed at the closest firepower barrel I saw, which in turn activated another, and then another one and in the end set the whole foremast ablaze.

The blast was deafening. The magnitude of the force hurled me forward into the freezing waters, subtracting me from human madness but throwing me right into the sea’s rage. For a long moment, I was almost sure that the water would swallow me and never return my body to the light. What of the Morrigan then? Was it over already? However, I had little time for these interrogatives as a strong pair of arms dragged me out of the freezing waves and onto a rowboat.

“Shay! Thank God you’re safe” It was James, wheezing from the strain and completely soaked in sea water. With a certain degree of relief, I realised that the sea had calmed down considerably from just an hour earlier and that the rain had almost stopped.

“What about Hope?”

“She’s safe. We need to get back” he said simply.

* * *

I had never felt happier to set foot on my ship than I was right then. Even though the day felt endless and I knew the worst was about to begin, at least I had the certainty that my friends were by my side.

“Shay! The ship will not fire because it has no cannons” Haytham said quickly as soon as he saw me.

“What do you mean?”

“Come” he said, guiding me towards the side of the ship which gave us a view of the enemy.

“You are right... That is madness! Why would a ship travel unarmed?”

“Those are not Templars” said John, running towards us, “but they seem ready to fight anyway”

“They can’t fight without cannons. Muskets alone will not take us down” I said with a quick smile.

Just when I had convinced myself that the situation was not so bad after all, a question popped into my mind.

“Wait. If James rescued me and the two of you are here talking to me, this means....”

“Fire!” screamed a voice from the helm.

“For God’s sake! Who the hell took the wheel?” I exclaimed, running towards the wheel. I never made it there because, just as I was putting my foot on the first stair, the cannons of the Morrigan shot the enemy and the recoil caused a sudden movement of the whole vessel.

‘Oh my. They got the right spot’, I thought.

“Men! Get ready for battle!” screamed the same voice, again. As I made it on top of the flock of stairs, I found a triumphant Hope staring at me, smiling confidently at my total disbelief.

Hope’s well-struck attack had caused the enemy’s ship to be set partially on fire and to begin sinking very slowly. It would take some time for it to go down, but at least we’d have the time to escape  through a very narrow passage on the other hand of the valley now visible because of the gradually clearer weather. I would rather have avoided that, but the would-be-shipwreck occluded any other passage.

However, things weren’t as easy as we had hoped they would. As a matter of fact, trouble was just about to begin.

“Captain, the man o’war is moving towards us!” James II called from the crow’s nest.

“Don’t be silly! That ship is sinking as fast as a dolphin”

“James II is right” John noticed, “Can’t you see the bowsprit move?”

“Damn”

“That’s not the worst of it” Haytham said, unsheathing his sword, “they have found a way to get on board!”

As the Templar spoke, I noticed a rather large group of men climbing their way up on the masts and a few of them gripping a thick rope.

"What the hell do you think they are doing?" I yelled in surprise. I soon found out as a few colourful sailors had thrown themselves in the air and were riding the ropes like a bunch of lianas to cover the small distance separating our ships. Some extremely brave men were even attempting to swim their way to us.

“Free the mains! We need to get away from here!” I screamed, ready to get the helm.

“Impossible, Sir! The passage is too narrow to pass through with open mains. We need to be calm and focused not to destroy the ship”

“Fine. We will fight” I ordered in the end, “get ready!”

It was unbelievable.  Dozens and dozens of men kept arriving on all sides: by air, by rowboat or simply swimming. Whatever reason those people had to follow us, it must have been a pretty good one because they fought like lions. Their determination was evident since the very beginning as they showed us barren teeth and little mercy in every single stroke of their swords.

However, if they were a united team, we were even a stronger one. Even if outnumbered and less brutal in our fighting technique, we were Assassins, and there was a Templar among us. Years of training and practice could hardly be matched by a squad of ordinary enemies, even ferocious and determined as they were.

We fought all together as if we were the same thing, our arms and our feet moving synchronously as if following a dance. With the corner of my eyes I could see Hope wielding her sword with such a proud determination and such fierceness that it made my cheeks blush furiously and my moves more effective. A little distraction that caused the blob I had spoken below deck, now my worst enemy, to open a rather painful gush on my cheek. I screamed, raising my sword to block his wrist halfway through the next blow. The sudden friction caused him to drop his weapon and almost lose his balance. This time, it was him to let out a cry as his barren fist met the steel. What surprised me was his shock in seeing his own blood. I took advantage of it to end his life cleanly and then pass on to the next enemy.

 In the end, there was no one but us left standing; my hands and my face were covered in slimy blood, and so were my sword, which I readily dropped on the floor. Then, I turned my head and met Hope's calm and radiant eyes fixed into mine, shining with the satisfaction of victory after a though battle. Without having a second thought I covered the distance between us with one single step, and as soon as my hand had touched her pale cheek any fear was gone: I pressed my lips on hers for a most wanted kiss. 

She didn't move at first, nor dared to jolt back. After a little hesitation she, too, pressed her sweated and bloodied  hand on my cheek and then deepened the kiss with as much ardour as I showed her. Without ever detaching from her I smiled, finally closing her slim figure in an embrace. 

"I love you" I said in the end as we drew a breath. We both laughed from joy and a little embarrassment.

"I... " she began, but never made it to finish the sentence. 

"Haytham! Haytham!" Someone was screaming. I let my beloved go,looking around in alarm to localise the Templar Grand Master. 

"What is going on?" I asked, but received no response since the living proof of the madness that was going on soon appeared right in front of my eyes. Our ally swung in the air right above our heads, his hands clinging a thick rope, in a fashion similar to that our enemies had previously used to reach us. His intentions was as a matter of fact that of reaching the enemy ship which was halfway through sinking and very likely to experience a blast any minute judging from the state of things. Why do that, then? 

"The captain" James observed from the helm, "he wants to get to his body"

"But why?"

"Let's not lose time. Shay, take the wheel and approach the enemies' ship. Not too much though, or we risk catching fire, too" Hope commanded, "he needs to evacuate immediately from there once he's done whatever madness he intends to"

"Right" I called back and then run to do as I had been asked. I was still flushed with emotion for the moment I had just had, plus all the confusion due to what Haytham was doing. I had no energy to oppose to whatever decision was being taken.

"Look! He's found something!" John screamed, looking through his spying glass, "Haytham has got a poach! Here? Oh, now he is running away, he's moving towards us" he said.

“It might be too late!” James said, his nails digging deep in his cheeks. He was right: the man of war was quickly being torn apart by a series of explosions which made not only our vessel, but the whole sea tremble. Being so close to it was total madness, but a risk that needed to be taken. The last thing we saw before the whole thing was destroyed was Haytham jumping.

Then, silence.

"Has... Has he made it?" James asked, but no one dared to answer.

"You were praying I hadn't, weren't you?" A voice with a heavy British accent said rather ironically. In the blink of an eye, Haytham was again among us, soaked and cold, but alive and active as ever. 

“How the bloody hell did you make it so quick here?”

"You nasty joker! You had us worry!"

"Confess it, you needed some attention after a day in the shadows..."

"Was is a trick?" 

Our voices mixed with the merry singing of the crew, and all those mingled sounds felt amazing to hear after the very long day we had just been through.

"And our captain has finally opened his heart!" Someone screamed at a certain point.

"Oh, shut up" I tried to defend myself, but I felt so good about it that I just didn’t care. 

"Hear, hear!"

* * *

Later on that day, Hope cleaned my bleeding wound applying a wet towel to my face. Her brows were furrowed in concentration as she softly wiped off dirt from the cut, and I couldn’t stop looking at her in fascination.

“Will you kiss me again?” I asked, smiling.

“You must have hit your head pretty strongly” she commented without looking at me. I could see her fighting to keep a serious expression. A small smile was emerging on her face.

“That’s also true”

Then, she decided that there had been enough words among us, so she leaned forward and pressed a light kiss on my lips.

 


	16. Step One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thank you everyone for your support, it means a lot to me! If you like my story or have any suggestions to make, please leave a comment! :)

**Hello! Thank you everyone for your support, it means a lot to me! If you like my story or have any suggestions to make, please leave a comment! :)**

**\----**

After a long night's rest, a meeting was called first thing in the morning to discuss our recent discoveries. The Morrigan was slowly making her way through the now calm sea, finally safe among those waters we had learned to be lunatic and merciless.

Truth be told I still felt dazed for the events of the previous days, among which Hope’s kiss was the most surprising and pleasant of all. I was more than determined to strengthen our relationship right now that we were far from indiscrete eyes and threats. We needed to be ready for what waited for us back home.

 “So what was so special about that ship?” James asked once we were all seated around the big table in my cabin.  

"I have seen nothing but huge rucksacks and people staring at the floor” I said. It felt all so different now; speaking about it out aloud made it somewhat less real, like a faraway dream. 

“Rucksacks?” John repeated, amused, “what was in there?” 

“I don't know for sure. Only, they smelled terribly like chicken food” I replied, taking out from my pocket a little pouch I had collected below deck during my investigations. Someone had written ‘Fanny’ on the front. 

“It smells like chicken food because it _is_ chicken food” my friend said, opening the sack and showing us a handful of yellow grains. 

“Which brings us all to what the lowest decks hid” Hope said, “and it will explain it all”

“Was that a cargo ship, then?” James asked without sounding too convinced. 

“Not the cargo you would expect” she carried on, “what I found was one of the most bewildering things I have ever seen in my life” 

“What was that?” 

“Animals.  Of all weight and dimensions, of any colour and shape” 

“You’ve got to be kidding us” James exclaimed, “what use would come from something like that?” 

“Who knows. Anyway, they did seem like the weird fellows” I added, “they had a strange fixation with black hair” 

“What kind of animals did you see?” Haytham asked. 

“There were of all sorts. At least, the section I ended up into was filled with huge water tanks. I recognised a baby dolphin and what a man told me to a little white whale”

 “How is that even possible? A ship can't  carry that much weight” 

“Not if you carry nothing but puppies and small animals” James said, “and that can also justify the fact that they didn't  attack us when they realised it was over: they had no firepower, not cannons for the matter” 

This last reasoning left us speechless for a moment. “But... what in case of an ambush?”

“Who knows? After all, they seemed quite perplexed towards any kind of violence”

When Hope carried on with her description, we realised that her discoveries were not just peculiar... they had something oddly sinister and worrying.                    

 According to what she had seen with her very own eyes, those men also had various cages with birds, puppies of  what looked like elks, fawns and other species that are usually hunted down for meat and fur.   
“Didn't you see anyone why you were at exploring?” I asked after a while, remembering what one of the men had said when I had asked about a woman being on board. 

“I did see people talking to the animals, but only one of them spoke directly at me” 

“Nothing else?” James asked impatiently, fiddling with the next item we had to discuss about: the captain’ s pouch. 

“I haven't  seen any herons, even if that seems to be their insignia” 

“That's queer” I agreed, “but then, no more than travelling around with a bunch of beasts” 

The situation looked extremely extravagant, and it was destined to leave us even more perplexed after we opened the item Haytham had risked his life for. 

The captain's little bag contained nothing but a tiny book. Even though it looked like a normal tome from the outside, we immediately realised it had been consistently damaged by sea water.

“In the name of the Redemptive Heron...” the Templar began to read out loud, but eventually stopped and began to giggle. 

“These people are stupid” James agreed, and both of them were again interrupted by their own laughter. “Hear, hear! ‘The time of His return is not far, so distance your bloodied teeth by the holy meat of the Earth creatures....” and again they both stopped because of a laughter fit. 

“I really can’t see what’s so funny about it” I commented, “Not after what we have been through yesterday” 

“But... Shay! Can't you see it? These people have made a religion out of their silly ideas!” 

“And who would this ‘Him’ they talk about be?” 

“I have no idea, nor I can imagine how this person could be linked to herons” 

The paper continued in a similar fashion, and the words sound dully useless to our ears, until...

“They will fight, and they will tear themselves apart over the centuries.... The complicate pieces from other worlds bring them together and make them wage war on each other.... Their philosophies are similar in some ways, yet substantially irreconcilable.... “

“Do you think they might be talking about Assassins and Templars?” Hope asked, surprised.

“It might, Yet, the rest of the writing is illegible. I am afraid we’ll have to do some research.

  
“We have better things to take care of” John said after a short while, a smile still lingering on his lips suddenly dying, “we need to get ready for our arrival. Our main mission is that of recovering the Manuscript. We must remember that” 

I had almost forgotten about it. 

“Right” 

\--  
“So.... it seems like there is not so much left before our arrival” I told Hope later that day. The sun was setting, spreading beautiful colourful light all around. 

“I know” she said simply, turning towards me and smiling. “I’m looking forward to it” 

“Have you written home yet?” 

“No. A part from yesterday’s little adventure, which I’d rather neglect, nothing relevant has happened” 

“So... you won't tell them about... about what happened yesterday” 

“The Assassins have enough worries already"

“I meant what happened after” 

“What happened after?”

“I meant ... about us” 

She let out a dry laugh. “And why would I do that?” than, seeing my worried expression, her featured mellowed. “I get the impression you’ve set your expectations quite high”. 

“I just want to be sure you consider this serious” 

“I do” she said simply, walking right behind me and caressing my back with her hand, “you know I do” 

“Prove it to me, then” I joked, returning my attention to the sea in front of us. 

“I will. When the time is right” 

\-----

Spanish dominion had transfigured Mexico altogether. In a few years time, the indigenous population that previously had inhabited those lands had been either swept away, forced into slavery or forced to exile. Instead, the European conquerors had installed a precarious dictatorship founded mainly on violence and discrimination towards anyone who didn’t look white enough to their eyes. The people of the country worked very hard, enduring through sufferance and hunger in the hope of being free one day. According to my sixth sense, that day wasn’t too far away: the people were ready to gain for independence, and I was more than sure that they would achieve their aim.    

“So... do you know where to find Mr Rodriguez?” I asked Haytham as we walked through the busy market streets by the harbour.

“Of course. But we can’t go there unannounced. I need to find his assistant first, and be assured that he can receive me as soon as possible”

“Good. In the meanwhile, I will provide supplies for the return trip”

“Do you trust me with retrieving the Manuscript?” he asked suddenly, turning to look at me, “you know I wouldn’t run off with the thing, do you?”

 “You’d better not, because we know all your weaknesses” I chuckled, and then I waved goodbye before heading the harbourmaster’s shop. This time, I didn’t remove my hood as I stepped inside, precaution that immediately proved to be wise.

“It should have reached port a couple of days ago. A huge vessel, I tell you”

_Damn._ It was one of the Heron men who was talking, and from his expression I could tell that the matter was important. Very important.

“I can assure you, if a man of war had docked here, we’ll all be able to see it” the harbourmaster explained with a strong Spanish accent. “We usually get but a few fishing ship, and a couple of merchant schooners. This isn’t the capital, my friend”

I stepped backwards silently, and tried to make my way up the stairs as quick as I could with my eyes still facing the back of my alleged enemy’s back. Hope’s words echoed in the air _Be patient. Be silent. Never let them hear you coming._

“What about this ship? Have you seen anything like this around?”

“ _The Morrigan...._ ” the harbourmaster read aloud, thinking, “well...”

How did these people know where we were headed? Had they been following us all along? The only way of finding out was to create a diversion and get to talk to him face to face. Without giving it a great deal of thought, I kicked the door so loud that the whole cranky wooden building produced a squeaky sound. “Anyone likes fresh meat?”

I had never given chase in such a crowded place. Threading my way through endless market stands and angry ladies holding baskets was indeed an experience to be remembered, more so having a man dressed like a peacock in tow. Around us, people screamed and pointed, but no one seemed interested in stopping us to restore order. As I slammed through various heaps of fishing barrels and annoyed sailors, I noticed a lazy group of soldiers glancing at us and then looking away once more in the direction of a scarcely dressed group of young women.

We were now at the end of a bumpy wooden platform that must have been a pier once.

“Are you alone? Why aren’t your daffy friends here to rescue you?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me” he said, halting and catching his breath in big puffs.

“What do you mean?”

“My comrades were sent to meet the Morrigan’s Captain”

“And how would you know it is me?” I asked, starting to feel rather uneasy in front of his neutral, almost casual expression.

“Because he’s got black hair”

My jaw dropped in disbelief.

“Shay!” A voice called. My eyes quickly shifted from the curious individual in front of me to the background, where a wheezing Haytham – followed by another unknown man- were quickly approaching. I then looked back to Heron, but just as I did so...

Just as I did so, the man threw himself in the sea water and dived.

“These people... they are insane” I grumbled in the end.

\-----

Luckily for me, Haytham didn’t have time to tell me off as the man following him- whom I found out to be one of Rodrigo’s clerk - encouraged us to follow him to his office without even giving us the time to organise our thoughts.

During the brief time we walked from the harbour to his nearby office, I instantly understood he was not someone who could be reasoned with. Even his long and impatient stride was a clear sign of his arrogance and conceit.

“So... Haytham Kenway. What is it you require of my master, Sir Rodrigo Escobar?” he asked as soon as we took a seat in his office. I looked at my ally, knowing full well that mister Escobar was anything but a landlord or a knight... anything but someone worthy of one of her majesty’s honorary title. Haytham didn’t correct him, though.

“I have written to my friend and long-time colleague twice already... but received no clear information on his behalf. I was afraid that...” in saying this, he leaned forward and looked at the clerk in the eye, “that his mental health might have.... _declined_ further”

Silence fell in the room.

“I have no idea about what you are talking about” the man said.

“You don’t? Mr... excuse me, what was your name again?”

“Ramirez”

“Well, Mr Ramirez, you must be a terrible ninnyhammer if you think you can fool me with such ease” he said, standing up and beginning to peace to and fro in the room, “as a matter of fact, I don’t believe a word of what you are saying”

“He’s right” I said, but in truth I wasn’t feeling so sure anymore. Furthermore, my friend had put on such a threatening face that it seemed like he was about to gouge out Mr Ramirez’s eyes.

“You don’t come here and insult me. Especially if you are looking for a private meeting with Mr Escobar. I am his right hand: I am in charge of his business, I send out his convoys, I reply to all his letters....”

“And yet, you didn’t even read mine. And yet, you haven’t recognised this symbol when I held it up for you” Haytham concluded, raising up his arm and lowering the coat’s sleeve so that we could all admire the Templar cross embroidered on his white shirt.

After this, the man bowed his head and sat down heavily on the chair.

“You are right. I lied. Mr Rodriguez has dismissed me three months ago and I’m desperate to damage his as best as I can”

I couldn’t say why, but his sudden confession disturbed me. Maybe it was because of his stark honesty, or maybe because it was too sudden... Could this man even be trusted?

“And so you pretend to be still in his service?”  
“Yes, so that I can scare his potential customers or business acquaintance away”

“Yet, when you saw the Templar cross... you spat out the truth without a second thought” I commented, lying down more comfortably in my chair.

“Templars are dangerous, and they never come this south from Escobars’s residence. Anyway, I am doubtful on the matter of Mr Escobar even receiving Templar assignments any longer. As you were hinting at before, Mr Escobars’s health....”

“Why has he dismissed you?” I interrupted him, studying his facial expression. All the cockiness he had shown us just a few minutes before had disappeared.

“Because I stack my nose where I shouldn’t have. Gentlemen, Templar influence here has prostrated the population. Mexico is a beautiful country and a home to a spirited and generous kind. Unfortunately, though, misery and hunger force many people to fall in a hard life. The Templars do nothing but worsen the situation by aiding the Spanish in their wrecked government. These people should be cherished, gentlemen, not warded off like stay dogs”

“Of course not. This is a beautiful country and I am sure our children will see it flourish and aid its cause for freedom” Haytham said, “but I am surprised the Templars would be so hasty in treating the population in such a manner”

“They do, I can assure it. Rich people only care for their well-being and forget about the rest of the world. And so do the Templars around here”

“They all take orders from Rodrigo, don’t they?”  
“They do, and as I was saying, his mental health has declined to the point that he hardly even leaved his study. That man is compromised....”

“Then I am sure we can help you in getting your revenge, Ramirez. I am confident you will tell us everything you know in front of the rest of my team so that we can formulate a proper plan....” Haytham said, gently pushing his by the shoulder in the direction of the door. In his composed yet rushed behaviour I sensed a tip of anxiety, or maybe... doubt. We were on the way to kill our fist Templar after all. Would Haytham prove to be a right ally?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Hope you enjoyed! Anyway, I'd be very grateful with anyone who could help me with regulating the spacing. It seems like I have some problems when copying the text that require a lot of time to fix! If anyone could lend me a hand, please PM me!


	17. Madness and truths

“I will phrase that again. I don’t like that man” Hope repeated, and now her strides about the room became more nervous.

“I can’t see why. After all, he told us everything we needed” I commented, slouching even more on my chair in the Captain’s cabin and drinking another long sip of wine.

It was right after dinner and Hope had previously asked me to have a word in private. I imagined she wanted to spend some time with me, maybe playing some board game or simply discussing the Precursor matters at worse. I certainly didn’t expect a lecture about Mr Ramirez.

“It is suspicious, though. Even worse, Haytham let him go away like that. He let him _walk off_ the ship. He even waved goodbye!”

“You doubt him?” I asked, surprised, “I thought we had decided to trust him”

“Yes, we did. But I don’t like they way he acted this time”  
“You are beautiful when you frown, you know that?” I said

“Frowning is what I do most of the time anyways” she halted in front of the table, then turned away again. “I should return in my cabin. People might get the wrong impression of me staying here”

“But you’ve been here five minutes!” I exclaimed, jumping up from my chair just as she grabbed the handle.

“Five minutes can be enough for nasty tongues to begin gossiping”

“I didn’t know you worried about that” I sat down again in my chair, more composed in my position but somewhat more relaxed. She had let go of the handle, “furthermore, there is no Liam reporting to the Mentor”

“He wouldn’t do that”  
“He would. Even the number of times I use my chamber pot might be relevant”

“Shay! Here goes the sailor in you!” she exclaimed exhibiting a scandalised expression mixed with amusement.

“Isn’t that true?”

“It is not. You are only jealous of him because he’s the one reporting”

I sighed, shaking my head. I had to admit that there was some truth in her words. Less than I’d like to hear, but still.... Anyways, I was sure that things were about to change. If my mission had succeeded, things were sure to change.

“It’s just....I am so tired, Hope. I need some comfort today. It has been such a long day” Even with the omission of the close encounter with one of the Herons, this statement was as true as ever.

For a moment, Hope’s eyes lingered on me, as if she wasn’t sure about what to do. “You should get some rest”

“I was so excited when you said you wanted to walk down the deck with me”

“Were you?” here tone sounded annoyed, now.

“I was. I thought you were finally trying to tell me that....”

“What?”

“That you have set your pride aside and made your... affection... for this humble sailor clear to the rest of the team” I tried sound casual, but I could hear the hurt in my voice. “Or are you regretting having chosen me in place of one of your wealthy suitors back in New York?”

“Really?” she asked, pretending to be surprised, “I can’t see why I should” I turned my head to look at her in the eye. She was standing right behind me, her hands delicately holding the chair’s back. Her look was full of laughter, but also... tenderness.

“Don’t mock me”

“I wouldn’t. You know that I love you” with these words, she leaned forward and kissed me very sweetly. Her touch was so delicate that I hardly acknowledged her in the first place. As I twisted my body to find a more comfortable position, she retreated back, encircling my shoulders with her arms instead.

“This is lovely. But not very appropriate” she whispered in my ear.

“Sounds very funny coming from you. I didn’t you you where a stickler for etiquette”

“No?”

“Especially at dinner. You don’t eat: you stuff your mouth!” I smirked.

A sincere smile appeared on her face, but regretfully it lasted only a moment. As usual, she got her feet back on the ground. “This is different, though. But... I promise that one day I won’t care”

I wasn’t sure about what that meant, or what exactly she was referring to. Women are indeed an enigma when they want to be.

* * *

On the following morning, I woke up to the sound of utter and somewhat creepy silence. A ship is usually a noisy epicentre at all times of the day, let alone when the sun rose. Uncertain whether this quiet was a good or a bad sign, I quickly made my way out of the cabin and below decks.  

“Good morning” I greeted, surprised to find the whole team sitting around the breakfast table.

Haytham was the only one to talk back. “Good morning” he chirped. His voice sounded.... merry. Almost.

“Is there a meeting I was not aware of?” I joked, grabbing a biscuit from a jar on the table.

I say John putting down his tea cup down with extreme slowness. “You might ask Master Kenway about that”

“Well?”

“It is about Ramirez” he said simply, and I took that there had been some discussion on the matter. I looked at Hope, trying to gather whether she had brought the matter up, but her eyes were fixed right in front of herself.

“Yes?”

“Yesterday, as I waved him goodbye, I realised that it hadn’t occurred me to ask him how come he spoke English so well, without any accent” Haytham words sounded casual, but the look on everybody else’s faces told me otherwise.

“So?”

“So I run down the harbour and asked him. Then I threw him in the waters and made sure his corpse came up floating before coming back onboard”

I was left speechless. Trusting that man had been a risk we had chosen to take, and ours had been an alliance, no matter how short-lived and weak it was doomed to be. It is not Assassin custom to go back-stabbing people, less so without consulting the rest of the team first.

 “Don’t look at me like that. We all knew that he was a spy, and that he was leading us to no good”

“And how would we know that?” I hissed, “You might as well provide a reasonable explanation to this”

“Very simple. There is a very simple explanation which you, trained Assassins, failed to see. That man declared to have been ‘dismissed’ by Escobar. Well, a Templar never, ever simply ‘dismisses’ their right hand”

At this remark, John jumped from his chair. “Right. So when our work here is finished, we must gut each other out as a goodbye”

“You are wrong, and never care to understand! If we Templars were nearly as inhuman and heartless as you and he think we are, well... I would already have sent my men on their way to Adèwalé’s cove!” he concluded, angered. Without waiting for a reply, he stormed out of the room.

“So susceptible... he must be menstruating” James commented, earning one of Hope’s famous smacks on the head.

* * *

Considering the circumstances, there was no time to lose. If Rodriguez was indeed a traitor, then Escobar’s men would already be on their way to look for him. To worsen the situation, the Morrigan had been harboured all night long, giving our enemies a step ahead if they had discovered about Ramirez’s death. If not... then they were a step behind as they counted on a man inside.

“As much as I loath to say this, Haytham had a speck of reason” John told me as we planned the safest route for the ship, “we shouldn’t have let a stranger in so easily”

“We were careful, and up until it was decided to let him go for the night he was little more than a hostage”

“A hostage with dangerous ties none the less. We are betting it all on Haytham. Let’s hope he won’t let us down, or our Brotherhood will have to put up with considerable losses”

“I will not”. The subject of our conversation said, popping right behind our backs. He was good; we had hardly heard him coming.

“Well, you would have reasons to, wouldn’t you? Two birds with one tiny stone”

“I could” Haytham snapped, hardly believing that the subject was being brought up _again_ , “but then your dear Mentor wouldn’t give me the second key I need to open the storehouse”

“And your dear Ziio would suddenly become useless, right?”

“ _John”_ I grabbed his arm in an attempt to calm him down to no use.

“What would you tell her about our deaths? Little accidents, no doubts”

Surprisingly, the Templar Grandmaster didn’t reply to these accuses. Instead, his gaze fixed on the horizon, far away from us.

“I just can’t believe she had herself fooled by you” he spat out before turning his back at us and walking away.

Useless to say, the air felt heavy and the atmosphere was more than simply tense after he left. Uncertain about how to act, I decided to simply change the subject.

“How do we even know this is the right place?” I asked him, pointing at the faraway spot which was supposedly the island which hosted Rodrigo’s base.

“Easy. This is a lonely place, the furthest from civilization you can be around here. Furthermore, the island hasn’t even been named. A perfect home for a paranoid man”

He had answered politely, so I politely decided to be silent and focus on the work ahead.

“Drop anchor!” John finally screamed after barely half an hour of navigation.

“Why? We are still far from the harbour” I observed.

“Exactly. Covering the Morrigan’s name plaque won’t be enough to be in disguise now. These are Templars, Shay. If we want to succeed, we have to act in the shadows”

“So what do you suggest? They must have spotted us already from one of those tall and fancy watchtowers. They know we are coming”  

“That’s right. We can’t just stop here, or do you expect us to oar all the way to the shore?” Haytham said sarcastically....

About a quarter of an hour later, I could hardly feel my arms, and so did both Haytham and James. “I just hope that this Templar friend of yours is going to invite us to dinner after this”

“And _I_ hope this blasted rowboat isn’t going to break before we reach land” my friend remarked.

 For security reasons, our group  had been split in half: Haytham and I would pretend to be the Templars in need of the Manuscript while James came with us, his skin dark enough as to be disguised as a servant. I felt rather uneasy in my new, foreign pitch-black templar robes and without a hood covering my face. However, since James and I were the less recognisable members of our Brotherhood -we mainly worked ‘indoors’- it had been us to be chosen for this mission. The rest of the team would instead bring the Morrigan around and eventually signal us an escape route in case of need. 

* * *

 “These people reached the port by means of a _rowboat_. They claimed that the sea bottom was too shallow for their vessel”

“Then they must have come by Noah’s ark” the second guard grinned.

“We cannot be sure that this man is who we think he is”

“He is. We know that he is. He told us that he’d be coming”

The small patrol who had found us on the shore was discussing in Spanish, oblivious to that fact that we could very clearly understand their words.

“What do we do if they don’t let us in?” James whispered,

“They will. We are too big a fish to be neglected” Haytham said confidently, “be aware of this, though: if we had been in any other Templar household, we would be welcomed with open arms”  
“Of course. Especially on our behalf”

I sighed, anxious. “They will try and divide us”

“Of course they will. The thing to keep in mind, though, is that we all work for the same cause, no matter what side we are in right now. Right, Haythie?”

* * *

After a little hesitation from the guards, we finally managed to set foot in the manor, which in turned out to be nothing but a cover. The true work was done underneath. At this point, I decided it wasn’t worth it to reason on how twisted this man’s mind was, or Templars’ in general. It all went down to finish it soon and get back on the Morrigan as soon as possible.

The place they lead us to was a sort of underground dungeon. The ‘living room’ was situated in the lowest level, which resembled a pit, overlooked by dozens of soldiers which stood right above us on. Everything under control, one would think.

If only. If only the whole place hadn’t resembled a filthy sewer.

The most memorable thing about it all was the smell. The stench of rotten meat and old moss penetrated my nostrils and made it really difficult to breathe, and hence to think rationally. Why on Earth would someone even chose to spend his days underground in living miniature of hell?

“Good evening, my friends” Escobar welcomed us when we entered the room, “I really appreciate your visit”

Escobar looked like any beggar populating any city of the world. Unlike them, though, he had a comfortable house and considerable wealth which would be more than sufficient to fix his looks. The wrong wasn’t just about the way he appeared, though. There was something in his eyes... he had large eyes which didn’t focus on anything in particular. They were partially covered by long hair falling down in filthy strands which he caressed with long-nailed hands. I looked away from him, disgusted.

‘The Templars must be desperate to design such wrecks as knights’ I though, and then for the first time something occurred to me: Achilles must have been a good leader if he had managed to set up such an efficient Assassin system in North America all by himself.... It mustn’t have been easy at all.

 I looked at Haytham and seeing him stiff and with such impenetrable eyes made me think whether he and my Mentor could ever be allies.

“The pleasure is ours” The Templar by my side said after a little hesitation. To our disappointment we were encouraged to take a seat on a chair right in front of Rodriguez.

“This place is lovely, is it not?” Escobar said after a short while.

“It ... it is certainly interesting” I commented, but I immediately regret having opened my mouth.

“And you are...?”

“Mr Collins, sir. I have joined the Order short ago”

“The Order?.... The Order....” his eyes got lost in the darkness for a long moment. “Ah, yes, I almost forgot. The Order”

“We are here for...”

“I thought you were here to have a nice chat with me”

“We are. As a matter of fact, we....”

Haytham was ignored. “And tell me, Mr Collins, what do you do for a living?”

Mr Escobar had asked, and he looked quite determined in his intention to get an answer.

I found myself talking about an imaginary life I had never had, about an imaginary family, and then about hopes for the future. Rodrigo seemed thirsty with more and more details, but not particularly interested in anything I said. Occasionally, my attention would be drawn by noises around me and by the irregular paces of the patrolling soldiers. When I finally was given the chance of taking a breath, the Templar’s features had changed slightly.

“You said you are here for the Manuscript. For that book that you sent me long ago” he said, finally looking into my ally’s eyes.

“That is right” he replied, tense. Had he sensed that something was changing around us, too?

“Well, your dear friend has asked it kindly the other day and I refused. I really can’t see why you would come back a second time”

“Our... friend?” I repeated, fear slowly making its way into me. What if it was Liam who had hoped to succeed earlier than us? Was it a Templar who had preceded us?

“Yes. You can see his body hanging just behind you”

I turned my head slowly only to meet the eyes of the man I had talked to the previous day by the harbour. His Heron clothes were the only colourful spot in that miserable place.

“We need to get out of here” Haytham said, and then he screamed it louder. It was useless: the world all around seemed too still, too grey to be true. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe; it felt as if I had been dead in the precise moment I had set foot in that blasted place.

“You won’t. There are too many of us” Rodrigo sang, and then he laughed. “You really believed it, right? That I was a madman” 

“You are! Either way, you are” Haytham laughed, and then he shook his head.

The same guard who had escorted us in the tunnel was now grinning, getting closer and closer. I could see his rotten teeth even two feet away.

“You don’t think we will just sit and wait as your affiliate try to stab us, right?” I asked.

“No, not at all. That is why I let you keep your weapons: so that I might enjoy a good fight. Go on now, kill to survive! I like to see blood pouring”

Predictably, Rodrigo’s men were well-trained and determined to eliminate the threat with the least possible number of loss on their behalf. Matter is, Haytham and I soon found ourselves surrounded by a dozen angry men ready to run as through with their blades.

“Come on, cowards!” Haytham shouted with a hint of fear in his voice.

“Here we are, sweetie”

I was the first one to strike, unleashing my hidden blade to cut through my enemy’s neck. I used my leg to kick off the corpse and engage a second guard immediately.  

“Haytham!”

 He had run off a little further from me, busying himself with a shapeless brute with a ferocity I had never seen in him.

 “What?” my ally cried back, and the distraction almost coasted  him his life. _Almost_ , because he immediately parried a blow to the head with his sword.

“We won’t last long”

“The boy is right!” Rodriguez cried, “you won’t!”

I raised my eyes upwards. Standing in one of the above levels overlooking the pit he stood, looking down at us. My eyes were hypnotised by him slim figure, eyes red with excitement. It didn’t last long, though: next, a shot echoed through the air, clear and loud. The fight stopped for a full moment as Rodrigo’s body came tumbling down, bones cracking horribly in front of us.

It is the last image I have of that day because someone hit me so hard on the head that everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, please leave a comment, it really makes me happy!
> 
> Also, I have decided to readjust some parts of the first chapters to fix some grammar and plot issues , but that won’t slow down updates, I promise :)   
> Have a good week!


	18. Prison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I am sorry for the huge delay... this has been a difficult period of my life... however, having my readers’ support has been of great help to me :) Thank you everyone for the nice feedback! It really kept me going!  
> Writing is very important: it keeps our dreams alive. I hope that this new chapter can help you smile, or improve your day even in the slightest way!

“Shay? Shay, do you hear me?”

A familiar voice...  and that name, _Shay_...

 Painfully, I forced my lashes to rise, hoping to localise the source of the sound. Only, the next thing I knew was that my head hurt so much I could barely breathe, let alone sit up and take control of the situation. A wave of panic washed over me, cutting away the little air I had managed to suck in my lungs while my throat produced a hoarse noise, the closest thing to a call for help I could manage. Finally, after a few moments of sheer desperation, I managed to calm down and bring a hand to the base of my skull, where the twinge was localised. Clearly, not the wisest thing to do: as soon as my hand touched the bone, pain exploded into my head, causing me to grind my teeth in an effort not to scream and leaving a bloody smear on my fingers. I feel back on the floor again and tried to be still.

The ceiling, the walls... the same stifle air around me suggested I was being secluded somewhere... underground. The degradation of the place matched that of the old, good ‘boarding school’ back in New York where I had spent some nights back in the olden days. Before Liam rescued me. Before I decided to meddle into this mess.

‘At least I am still alive” I thought, but that didn’t sound too much like a consolation.

“Shay!” someone called again.

“Haytham” I whispered in response, finally able to identify whose voice it was. I couldn’t quite see him since there was a wall separating us, but I could say that he was nearby.

“Thank God you are alive”

Even though it felt agonising to do it, I laughed. How ironic that he, all of people, should say that. But again, we weren’t enemies any more. Or so I thought.

“Are we in prison?”

“It seems so” he sighed.

With a second effort, I tried to sit upright again, this time with success. The world kept spinning, though, and a wave of nausea threatened to make me throw up right on on myself.

“Escobar is dead?”

“He is. I shot him before they put us in here. I am convinced that there is someone else behind all this. Don’t you?”

“I don’t know what I think, Haytham” I said then, exhaustion sweeping over me. The urge to lie down made my feet itch, but I restrained myself. I had to keep my head clear. As clear as I could anyways.

“Are you all right?”

“I am bleeding, Haytham. Just above the nape of my neck... there is blood”

“I was afraid you could be injured. I am afraid I can’t offer you any solace.... besides this”

Something moved in front of me. Even though I could not focus on the object itself, I knew that Haytham had pushed something shiny and made of metal through the bars if his cell. I dragged myself within reach and grabbed it.

“Thank you. Some alcohol was overdue” I commented, suddenly refreshed.

“Yes, I imagined so. Now lie down and try to get some sleep”.

* * *

When I woke up again, the pain had eased. It felt like a distant buzz and it certainly was anything but pleasant, but... It was a start. On the other end of the wall, I heard Haytham pacing to and fro in his cell, restless, unable to stay still.  

I gulped down the rest of the whiskey left in the pouch- part of which I had used to cleanse my wound- before handing the container back to Haytham.

“Are you feeling better?”  
“I am. Actually, I am surprised. You don’t seem like the kind of man to be drinking when no one looks”

“I take a sip before bed. It helps me sleep since I can’t sleep well most nights”

His tone was sincere, and... oddly revealing. It was a rare thing to hear him talk about himself, so my instinct told me it was time to lighten the atmosphere.

“That was before Ziio came in your life, I suppose. She must be quite the dream catcher”  
“She is. And I hope she continues to be so in the years to come”

“Are you thinking about marrying her, then?” I asked, surprised. I could fathom we would eventually talk about this, but I wasn’t expecting this serious a speech. Especially not _now._

“I don’t know whether I would admit myself into church. My conscience is not exactly crystal clear, let alone the fact that I do not believe in God. And on Ziio’s side.. well, I reckon the Mohawks wouldn’t be so keen on welcoming me into their fold. So, no. I think we might just live together... for how scandalous that might sound”

“It doesn’t.”

“Really?”

“Not among the Assassins at least. Our Mentor... he had a wife, and they weren’t actually married. It didn’t make any difference to us”  
“He... ‘had’?”

I hesitated before answering. My mind went back to my early days as an Assassin, and my heart felt heavier in my chest.

“When I was just an Adept, I.... one afternoon I sneaked inside the Manor’s kitchen, trying to get my hands on this pie she had been baking all day long ... I thought she was out, but I guess I was wrong. I wasn’t even of of the youngest ones that could be excused, but that smell... it reminded me of my aunt” I took a deep breath, realising that I was going off track and that my word must have made no sense at all.  
“What happened then?”

“She let me go. Miss Abigail gave me a big slice, put it in a plate and told me to take my time. She’s taken it off her mouth, off her child’s mouth and given it to a stranger. She was so good... So good that Achilles can’t be a bad man. Not if she loved him”

“A ... child? Your Mentor?” he asked, surprised.

I allowed myself a small chuckle. “The little rascal. He spoilt him and loved him like he was the most precious treasure in the world”. Then I stopped, remembering the little face I had cherished so much and suddenly feeling unable to speak another word.

“I am sorry. I am so sorry to hear that”

I sighed, not sure whether it had been a good idea or not to talk to him about this.

“It’s over now, though. And we were talking about Ziio” I continued, willing to change the subject.

“We were”

“So, do you love her?”

“Don’t be so rushed up with you conclusions-“

“But you said-“

“I know what I said”

“So you want to marry her because it pleases you?”

“No, Shay, you totally misread me. I am not that kind of man. It is just... difficult. Difficult to admit to myself that I love something else than my job”

“So you love her” I smirked, apparently mocking him but, deep inside, happy to hear what he was saying.

“Easy to talk about other people! What about you, then? Have you-“

He stopped midsentence, and even his footsteps came to a halt suddenly. Following his example, I paid attention to the sounds around me, sure that he must have heard something.... And so he did, because in the next instant it became clear that someone was coming in our direction. It was however a surprise how this ‘someone’ proved out to be inexperienced and rather awkward in handling his job.

“You, over there. The Templar Knight. Take off your robes and put this on” the guard said, his breathing still ragged from the strain he’d put in opening the door that lead from the corridor into the section we were being held in. Next, he threw a bundle of clothing into Haytham’s cell, gesture that was not too well received by my friend.  

“You go throwing dirty robes to your filthy friends. I will rather remain in these clothes” Haytham said with extreme contempt, looking at the boy’s young face with a disapproving sneer.

“You will do as I say”  
“Or else?”  
“Else, I will have you whipped”  
“Oh, I don’t believe that. You need us alive” Haytham retorted back in a rather threatening voice. “You are quite easy to predict, aren’t you?”

 “So you say. We shall see. Now give me those clothes back”

“Oh, no. I won’t. I could decide to hang myself with those if it pleases me”  
“Fine” the guard snapped, short on patience or maybe unable to handle as problematic as Haytham was proving to be.

“You, there. Out of here. We need to interrogate you” the guard said after a short pause, pointing at me.

“Can’t you save it for another day?” I pleaded. The mere thought of walking made my stomach twist.

“No, I am afraid we can’t”

I didn’t oppose any resistance while being blindfolded and brought outside of my cell, but I focused on my senses instead: the utter silence around me, the fusty smell, the unevenness of the ground... it all made me thing about a lonesome, decaying place.   
Instead of being interrogated, I found myself in a small room which looked not worse than all the others; inside, a man proclaiming to be a doctor – but whom proved to have little ability in the field- attempted to cleanse my wound and bandage it as well as he could.

“Aren’t you interested in hearing what I have to say?”

“What do you have to say? What would a silly New Yorker sailor even think about getting involved in a business which doesn’t even concern him?”

“So you think you know who I am” I goaded him, but he had more cunning than I had initially thought.  

“It doesn’t matter what _I_ think. Now go back to your cell and sleep while you can”

This encounter left me rather unconvinced. Without the shadow of a doubt, there was someone hiding behind all this, someone who was instructing these people to treat us as they were... not regarding us as prisoners, but not even like guests. What could it be, though? Could this have something to do with the Herons? _No_ , I established, thinking about that poor, tortured body I had seen right before the fight had started. There was something more to this. And then, what about our friends who were probably looking for us? What if something had happened to them? What about James? Had he managed to escape or was he, too, hidden somewhere in these tunnels? I found myself thinking about how odd the whole situation felt, and then my thought shifted again, focusing on the last evening on the Morrigan, about Hope’s words to me. _I will when the time is right_. What did she mean? It didn’t matter now, though. I traced with my mind the soft outlines of her face, of her bright eyes, of her tender lips as she smiled to me. With this sweet image with in my mind, I finally managed to sleep.

* * *

Some time passed after that in a blur of images and faraway noises. My only clock was Haytham’s steady peace, his constant walking up and down the cell, probably looking for a reason to explain our capturer’s behaviour. I lied down as much as I could, propped against the pillow that had been brought to me to support my head, eating and drinking a little, sleeping most of the time. Sometimes, Haytham would try and engage in conversation which usually transformed in rather pleasant discussions about our faith and believes, about our past and the events that shaped our life.

Since there were never any guards around our cells– we could hear them pacing in the corridors, though-, we could speak liberally, and Haytham confessed me that he was sure some of his Templar friend was on the way, someone who would recognise him and set us free.

“The only reason they keep us in here is that they fear we might escape” he said reassuringly, but I didn’t feel so sure as he was... instinct, I guess. That was to become the last of my worries. Suddenly, just when I felt well enough to stand for a few minutes, pain came back, worst than ever. The sheer feeling of it paralysed my upper body, forcing me in a delirious state and in a sort of light coma.

“Come on, Shay!” my friend would repeat over and over, fear clinging to his words.

“I... If I plunged my hidden blade in my neck, it would hardly do any difference” I said at last with a sort of exhausted laughter.

God knew if that was anything but a good sign.

* * *

On the third or fourth day after the pain had started again, I was suddenly woken up in the middle of what I presumed to be night by a hand on my shoulder. Someone was shaking me.

“Yes. Mercy. Have mercy. Kill me” I managed to stammer. The person standing on top of me, though, had no such intention, He spoke, but the words didn’t make much sense to me.

“He is ill, James. I feared that he would. He was injured” Haytham’s deep voice rescued me from the darkness.

“James... is it you?”

“Yes, it’s me. Haytham, help me hoist him up”

“The bastards. The bastards have poisoned the pillow. The wound will suppurate”

“All the best reason to get him _the hell out of here!”_ my fellow Assassin hissed just as the door flung open, emitting a horrifying noise. I screamed in pain.

The intruder never made it inside the cell, though, as someone must have pierced him through with a blade.

“Put on your weapons, and carry Shay’s as well. We will need them later on”

I didn’t question how James had managed to get back my hidden blades, but I felt so much better when they were again hooked on my wrist that I got up, and even though everything around me was spinning I gathered what was left of my strength and silently followed my comrades.

“Shay, you are in no condition to fight. Remain behind  us”

“....”

“Haytham, you assist him. We need to stay close”

We walked down the corridor. There was some noise of weapons clinging one against the other. Someone shoot once, then again. A friendly hand pulled me forward, tried to make me run.

“Too late. Leave me here. You go” I said, and maybe I said it too quietly, because the hand wouldn’t leave me. Then I fell on the ground and  the world went black, icy and cold, once more.


	19. Breaking In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this new chapter... thank you everyone for your support...! :)

_“Poison. It was poison, I tell you”_

_“You lie down!”_

_“Poison? What kind of poison?”_

_“Hope...”_

_“Oh Shay... I am here. Haytham, tell me!”_

_“He is injured. We need to...”_

_“Now!”_

_“I have... I... I have a sample... I cut it from... the pillow. They poisoned...”_

_“For the love of God, he is losing too much blood”_

_“Right. Right, tend to his wounds”_

_“Will they make it?”  
“Let me get the supplies”_

_“Can they make it?”  
“Shut up and get me some water!”_

* * *

It was raining cats and dogs when I finally opened my eyes, and with supreme pleasure I acknowledged the reassuring motion of sea waves lulling me. Sight slowly caught my senses but I no longer felt any pain, if not a slight pressure on my forehead. It was heavily bandaged but all in all it didn’t look too bad.

“Where is Haytham? Where is James? I need to talk to them”

“Shh... lie down, my love. Lie down”

Hope was sitting on the bed by mi side, her cold hands checking my temperature. I knew by untidy, fragmented memories that she had often been by my side, offering me drink and  food, occasionally feeding me with a spoon, and spending sleepless nights by my side. At a point I had realised that she had become either brave enough or too tired so that she snuggled under the sheets and crawled next to my body. That was maybe the main reason to keep me going.

“You healed me?”  
“Who else is the poison expert around here?”

I stretched my arm forward, and my finger clumsily brushed her cheek. “I am so happy to have you here”

“Me too. We thought we had lost you. Haytham came pretty close to it, too”

“How so?”

“He carried you all the way from the dungeons and onto the cart when you lost your senses”

“The cart?”

“You don’t remember, do you? You were unconscious”

“I remember someone shooting”

Hope’s eyes darkened. “Yes. That was one of the guards. The bullets took Haytham. Twice. He’s been a loyal friend and companion, Shay. When he has done that night...  a few would”.

“I know. He’s a good man”

“James, on the other hand, will have a story to tell once you’re feeling better. Achilles will be so proud of him”  
“Sure he’ll get a promotion”

“I can’t believe you’re still raking your brains about it!” she said, and then laughed. The sound itself was so rare and so unexpected that it made my heart melt.

“You laugh because you’re the favourite and you can’t get any higher”

“I laugh because you look funny” she said, adding another cover to the conspicuous amount of sheets covering me.

“I am not that cold right now”

“When we go back home and I’ll show you my quarters, you might be surprised. I sleep in so many more bedcovers than these”.

Her words surprised me. I hadn’t seen that coming, but I couldn’t say I wasn’t pleased.

“You certainly are in a good mood”

“I am. You finally woke up. I was afraid you’d never open your eyes again”

“I am a though one. I had to wake up. I had to tell you”

“Tell me what?”

My eyes wandered off, unsure on how to get into the topic.

“The... latest gossip. Haytham... he wants to marry Ziio”

“Really?” she exclaimed, surprised. She secretly liked gossips. We all secretly do when you don’t really have a life of your own.

“He told me himself”

“Be careful not to let John hear you. He’d be able to swing himself from the upper deck”

“I know. It’s just... that I have been wondering”

“What about?”

“If I asked you to marry me right now, what would you say?” I tried to smile, pretending confidence I didn’t have.  
Without showing any emotion, she stood up and poured herself a glass of water. “I’d probably think the medicine is affecting your brain”

“It is. Sure it is. Now come here and whisper in my ears again. Tell me aloud what you whispered in my ear when you thought I was too ill to listen”

“Oh, Shay” she sat on the bed again, “I-“

“There is no shame in that”  
“There is. I made myself ridiculous”

“You didn’t”

“I did. I felt weaker than I had in years” she confessed softly, leaning a bit towards me as to look better in my eyes.

“Weakness is human”  
“I know”

“You know everything” I pretended to sound surprised, and she laughed again.

“Right” she murmured before lying down by my side and starting kissing me softly.

I tried to kiss her back, careful not to move my neck to avoid pain.

It didn’t last long enough, but it was a start. As I looked at my beloved sleeping in my arms, ready to fall into a deep slumber myself, I thought that I never felt luckier in my whole life.

* * *

“Good afternoon! Sleeping beauty has finally awakened!” James’ joyful voice woke me hours later.

“Lower your voice, James. Stop being loud”

“Right. Better not to awaken Hope. She is sleeping for once”  
I lowered my eyes by my side, where my beloved was curled, peacefully asleep. Assassins aren’t heavy sleepers. We need to be fully alert even during rest, but this time it was different. This time she was so exhausted that she’d turn deaf.

“Well, my boy. You are the luckiest man in this world right now. You know why?”  
I remember my old saying, ‘I make my own luck’. It sounded silly and meaningless, now, so I simply nodded.

“Well first and foremost, because the blow to your head hasn’t killed you. And second, because the infection was treated just in time. You should lit some candles in church for your luck, you know”

_Church._ I hadn’t been setting foot in one ever since Lisbon. I closed my eyes, shooing the memory away. “What happened exactly? I don’t remember much”

“Well, after you killed Rodriguez, someone else took charge. Another Templar, probably, but no one can say for sure. Someone who cared to keep Haytham alive and eliminate you in a seemingly.... _natural_ manner”

“It makes no sense”

“It does. If the person who took charge and staged all of this was indeed a Templar, then he might suspect that Haytham was betraying them”

“But he isn’t”  
“Are you sure about that?”

I tried to reason about it for a moment, but my thoughts didn’t flow too well in my mind. I pictured in my head the long conversations I had had with Haytham, his words of doubt concerning the Templar philosophies and his plans for the future....

“Anyway, the guard that hit you is dead. I made sure of that. She almost broke the bone at the base of your skull, and it is a miracle that none of its splinters detached from the wound. It would have killed you instantly”  
“Will it go back the way it was?”

“Yeah, we think so. Anyway, you can’t get much worse that you are already!” he joked, and then he started to tell what had happened while Haytham and I were held behind bars.

“While you were lead to Rodriguez, I was sent in the stables to wait for you. As you could imagine, the last thing I wished was to stay still while God knew what could happen. So I hid my clothes in a haystack – I would come back later to hide them properly- and disguised myself as a slave. You would hardly believe how many poor souls worked those fields while those hideous Templar henchmen guarded the house. Anyway, I managed to slip past a pair of them and infiltrated the house from the kitchen door. I did some spying around, examining the situation and listening to whispers... it didn’t take me too long to understand that most servants hated Rodriguez with ferocity and would give anything to see him dead. Even though it was risky, as time passed and I realised that you were not coming back, I approached the head cook and explained him the situation, promising I would help him escape if he had covered me up. The man had a good heart and found in me the right man to guide his little rebellion”

“And how did you manage to free us?”  
“Well, just as I was saying, a rebellion was being organised in the plantation, but no one had the ability or the skill to carry it out. The kitchen personnel counted on it to break free and take revenge on the way they were treated. I took charge of the situation immediately and played it at my advantage by inflaming the men’s spirits and building up a resistance. Of course the first thing I clarified was that I wanted you alive. I even managed to find your weapons and robes”

“What about the Morrigan? Who warned the others onboard?” One of the major worries Haytham and I had had while in prison had been about our friends.

“That wasn’t too difficult. I sent a young man at sea; he is now employed as a ship boy. He looks tiny, but has incredible power in his arms. His own mother didn’t come looking for him: she believed that he had hanged himself because of... well, the terrible treatment he had received on the island, to put it mildly. You know, when the time to strike came... the first thing I did was going  right after the people who had hurt him so badly”

I sighed, deeply affected by James’ pained voice. Somewhat difficultly, I brought myself around to asking the question that had been tormenting me- and probably the rest of my team- ever since Rodriguez had been shot dead.

“What do we do now, James? We don’t have a clue about the location of that blasted manuscript”

“Oh, but I do. Do you think I lazed around while you risked your lives?”

“Well... tell me, then”

James stood from his chair and started pacing around slowly, his long steps measuring the room with each stride. In the end, when he finally recollected his words, it was with solemnity that he announced the newly-discovered news.

“It was on the third day of your seclusion that I had whispers about ‘The Tree’”

“The tree?” I asked, incredulous.

“Yes. The ‘Tree’ is apparently a person who has a very powerful grip over Rodriguez. He wasn’t on the island with us, though, we can be sure of that...  no one would say his real name, or anything else about him besides the fact that he was surely bound to come now that he had achieved what he wanted. And that he wanted ‘the tricorn-hat man’ alive”

I shook my head in disbelief. There were too many mysteries for my taste.

“What happened to the men on the island after we left?” I finally asked.

“Some of them decided to stay and build some sort of independent republic, hoping that escaped slaves might learn of it and join them...  I advised them to change the location since Templar troops could come after them. I hope they will heed my warning...”

For the first time in what felt like hours, I left my eyes roam over the Captain’s cabin, over object I had disposed that way but that now seemed foreign to my eyes. Finally, I let my gaze fall on Hope’s sleeping form and caressed her hair lightly “Maybe... Maybe the infamous Herons are involved in all of this”

“Then why expose the dead body of one of them in front of everyone? No. I believe it is another name we have to dwell into. Gabriel De Costa. I have asked Haytham already, and he confirmed that he lives in Jamaica. We are lucky, my friend: the July wind agrees with us”

A moment later I found out that James had found La Costa’s name in Rodrigo’s personal correspondence: it seemed like the new man we were after was a specialist in Precursor Artefacts and was likely in possession of the yearned Manuscript. The last letter exchanged between him and Rodriguez was in fact a page of the Manuscript itself. Upon hearing this last piece of news, my body jerked.

“Are you sure of that?”  
“I know the Manuscript like my own body, friend. The page I found was one of the last ones, identical to the one I have laid my eyes upon at the Manor. The only difference is the colour of the ink”

With this last piece of information he decided that I had been told all I needed to know, so that he left me to think.   


	20. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a new chapter! Thank you everyone for your support! :)

It took me time to recover. Besides the physical injury, I soon found out that it was something inside me to have shifted during the time in captivity. Even though we had been held prisoners for only three weeks, both Haytham and I felt emotionally exhausted and drained after such an event. To my surprise, he never came to visit, and even though I knew that he had been quite badly wounded, his absence pained me more than I could admit.... I had grown accustomed to his presence. It was in those moments more than ever that I missed Liam’s warm presence, his calming voice and endless patience with me. _Home_.

It was not until a full fortnight after I had awakened that I managed to crawl out of bed and stand on my own two feet.

“It feels good to finally be able to stand up” I commented as John put an arm around my shoulder to support me in the process.

“It is good to have you back, Captain. The crew has been rather worried and sulky while you were away, and silent. I am sure everyone’ll be glad to have the true Captain back to the helm”

“All in time” I sighed, my legs almost giving me away in the effort of moving another step forward. “Have we set the right course for Jamaica?”

“We have. As a matter of fact, if we succeed in getting you settled on that chair over there, I bet the others are ready to begin the meeting”

With a surge of pride, I detached from my friend and walked on my own all the way to the said chair. It felt... odd to feel a sense of satisfaction for something so obvious such as walking, but still... I knew that from then on I would never take walking or running freely around for granted. As a matter of fact, I supposed that quite a few things were about to change.

“Good evening everyone” John finally began as everyone settled around the table. Upon seeing me, Hope smiled, allowing her eyes to indulge over mine for a moment.

“We are here to talk about recent discoveries, and establish the approach to take to the matter once we reach our destination” Slightly irritated by Haytham’s lack of attention, my friend coughed. “We are speaking to everyone in this room, if you haven’t noticed” he said with a dangerously quiet voice.

Haytham didn’t reply. His eyes were lost somewhere out of the window, his attention clearly focused elsewhere.

“Last time the Templars didn’t take our arrival too well... and they weren’t even close to knowing that there were Assassins in sight. This time, I suggest caution. There is always the remote possibility that someone loyal to the Templars has survived on the island and has warned the others”

“And then there is the Tree” I added, and just after pronouncing these words I noticed Haytham’s back contracting. After a painstakingly long moment, he turned his back and finally faced the group.

“I have told you, this whole ‘Tree’ thing sounds like a trick to hold the servants at bay. Templars have no fear in labelling people with their birth names, unlike you Assassins do”

Everyone’s expression clearly showed that uneasiness had spread in the room after hearing such a response. Personally, I was taken aback by such an aggressive reply, but I didn’t let myself down.

“What makes you think so?”  
“Obviously the fact that I would be aware of the existence of this ‘Tree’ if it ever existed” he explained, his eyes back once more out of the window. “After all, I still am the Master of the Colonial Rite, and one of the most important knights of the British Order”  
“Hear, hear” James mocked him, “we’ve got a prince onboard!”

This time, though, Haytham didn’t laugh. He remained perfectly still, apparently uninterested din what we were saying.

I looked around to gaze at the other Assassins; we exchanged meaningful glances, deciding to ignore the fact for the moment. We had to focus on the plan.

“This Costa guy is, for a change, a rich and powerful man. For a change, he lives in a big Templar mansion... and apparently has one part, or maybe the whole Manuscript. So our mission is to obtain said Manuscript” Hope started, her eyes narrowed in concentration. “Now the matter is, do we let Haytham go ahead like last time and pretend it is all a Templar business, or is it better to infiltrate?”

“And where exactly would we begin our search? As you have said, this guy lives in a pretty big home. It could take weeks for an infiltrate to dig up the information we need.... unless of course the Manuscript is being held in a secret vault. Then it would be an impossible mission”

“What about we kill La Costa and then search the place?” my proposal was not accepted well.

“Shay, I have to remind you that we are working alongside the Templars” John reminded me, serious, “We have all the time in the world to kill the biggest number as possible.... _afterwards_ ”

“You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Haytham hissed, his glance full of hatred. Even though we had ventured into a delicate topic, I couldn’t quite explain the anger outburst. It felt... misplaced. The whole meeting felt somehow wrong, and when Haytham dashed out of the room an unusual silence feel among us.

“You are too aggressive, John” Hope sighed, severe, “you know that you need to keep your feelings at bay when comes to work”

“It is not ‘about work’, Hope. Not anymore. I no longer hate Haytham like I used to do, and you know that... but we need to remember who he is. He is a Templar, and he will remain so. Meeting and killing Rodrigo has been a hard blow for him, and the time has come for to make a choice”

John was right. After all, I had assumed Haytham had killed Rodrigo out of self-defence, and because he was a madman.... what if I was wrong? What if he had unconsciously though himself part of the Assassins in that moment?”  
“Do you think Achilles would take him in?” James finally asked.

“Well, it would be a curious thing, wouldn’t it? Edward Kenway was a Templar for a short time; he later on converted to the Creed... he was partially mentored by Ah Tabai, if I don’t remember it wrong... think about the paradox: his son meeting the same fate... and training under Ah Tabai’s last student. It would be remarkable” she smiled.

“If he proves himself faithful and willing... why not?” it was my very heart speaking. I really wanted Haytham to join us, o be part of our group.

“Well, I am sure that all will bode well. Achilles is a big, cuddly bear; I am sure that if you ruffle his sheep-y hair....”

“ James!” Hope exclaimed, a scandalised expression appearing on her face, but her sentence was cut off by our laughter.

* * *

“I am sorry about what happened”

Haytham was sitting in front of the small desk in the guests’ cabin and seemed to hardly acknowledge my presence even though I had been standing on the doorframe for over ten minutes.

“We are worried for you”

Finally, his stylus detached from the parchment and his slouching position changed in something more... upright. He didn’t turn, though, and when he started speaking his voice sounded a little annoyed.

“You don’t have to. I am perfectly fine”  
“You don’t look fine today. Would you like to talk about what has happened?” I proposed, moving a step over the threshold, my legs aching to take a seat on the bed.

“I really don’t want to. All I really need is to be left alone, really. I thank you for your concern, though”  
“Listen to yourself! You are so formal. I thought we had more confidence than this” I exclaimed, trying to make mine sound like a joking reproach, hoping to mask my concern.

“If you are referring to my aimless rambling while we were held captive.... I am sorry, I admit that dehydration has funny effects on me”

I could hardly believe my ears. He was clearly trying to put a distance between us, but his clumsy was of doing was a clear sign that he was forcing himself to it... at least in my opinion.

“Right. Well, if you want to... ehm, talk, you know where to find me” I finally said, turning back, finally convinced to leave him alone.

“Oh, but I won’t need to talk. I am sorry to have misled you, but I won’t be bottled up in this circle. I am friendly towards you all, but I am not your friend. An acquaintance, that is it. I can even say that I won’t have you killed by order, but no more”

“I... as you wish”

Somewhat reluctantly, I forced myself to turn my back at him and walk away, headed to the helm. My crew’s enthusiasm was contagious enough to make me forget my worries for a while as John steered the Morrigan left and right and I sat on a barrel behind him, listening to the sailors’ joyful singing.

 

 


	21. Ivy and Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! It has been a long time since I have updated... sorry about that! I will try and update as fast as possible now since we are getting closer to the end!

The first light of dawn shed peaceful long shadows on the Morrigan’s deck, colouring the sea with magnificent reddish hues. Such a pretty view made it worth it to spend the whole night at the helm, shivering in the chilly July air and struggling to keep my eyes and the rest of the crew’s minds wide awake.

“Good job, boys!” I finally screamed, passing command down to James. The bell rang from below decks, signalling the turn shift and hence allowing me to a small break before making ready to disembark.

Silently, I climbed the stairs to my cabin and opened the door to my room as quietly as I could not to awaken Hope, who was peacefully sleeping in my bed, curled up in my favourite spot.

“Good morning” I whispered, noticing her shrewd eyes opening as soon as my silhouette entered her sight.

“To you as well” her body discretely moved aside to allow me to lie down next to her for a while.

“Everything is ready. We will be harboured at the docks within two hours if everything goes smoothly”

“You don’t seem too happy about that” she commented before sitting up in the bed, already keen on getting to work at analysing me.

“I am worried about Haytham. He has been oddly silent since we left that stupid island. I fear he might do something he, or we will regret in the future”

“Shay.... We already have” she whispered, looking straight into my eyes for a long, dreadful moment. Her pupils were two large circles in her pale face.

“What... what do you mean?” I asked with caution, almost hoping she would not answer to me.

“We told him that this whole... Manuscript business was about something bigger, about him getting a missing piece to open a vault he had found in this area... remember? The Manuscript in exchange for it”

Slowly, very slowly, my stomach tightened up in a knot. Even swallowing felt like a hard task.

“Right. We did”

“What we had all secretly prayed for was for Haytham to turn into one of us, or getting killed on the way because another Templar would likely recognise him and label him as a traitor. I do fear the outcome will be devastating now that we are almost sure it won’t happen”

She climbed out of bed nimbly, her petticoat perfectly in place, as if she had been sitting straight the whole time. Notwithstanding the tense moment and the hard decision to take, my eyes were drawn to her slim figure, wishing it wasn’t covered up in so many layers. Not at all times, at least.

“Shay?”

“Well, I.... I guess that when we will explain to him why it is so important to destroy all the Manuscripts, he will understand”

“And when should this confrontation take place?”

“You are too fast for me” I sighed, shaking my head regretfully. Even my last spirits had been choked now, and all I felt was the heavy weight of anxiety in my chest.

“I am sorry. I have been too hard on you” Hope finally said. She came closer to me and let my arms wrap around her waist firmly as I kissed her with all my heart.

* * *

Spanish Town. The hometown of one of the most famous pirates in history, Blackbeard, and now florid capital of the English Colony of Jamaica. It was a place full of trade, sale and business: a perfect environment for a Templar to thrive.

In order to avoid conflicts and ‘misplaced worries’- as Haytham would define them- our Templar ally would be accompanied by Hope, disguised as Haytham’s companion of travel, while John and I would scout the area and get ready for a signal to infiltrate the house late at night. After all, Haytham had assured that it was good custom according to Templar’s etiquette to invite a fellow knight to stay as a guest at another affiliate’s mansion in such circumstances.

In the end, it was with a little disappointment that John and I found ourselves roaming thought the city’s streets, our gazes occasionally drawn to our backs, where the Morrigan towered proudly over the other schooners harboured at the docks.

“We need to get acquainted to the area... bur first, let us get something fresh to drink before we lose our minds”

The heat was, as a matter of fact, unbearable. After a little searching, we decided to stop for a drink in a nice tavern in an open courtyard. It was a quiet place, almost empty and with vines and other pretty flowers covering most of its walls.

We had been sitting and examining our city map for a while when John got distracted by something. I didn’t pay him too much mind at first: we are Assassins after all and we tend to notice every little movement people make around us.  

“Shay. Shay, look”

“What is it?”

“Just... look”

I raised my eyes from the map, annoyed, but immediately all my sense jerked awake.

“That is....”

“That is a Heron, yes”

Suddenly, the image of the tiny book that had belonged to the Heron’s Captain came back to my mind, and with it the image of the battle who had seen us as winners. Then, another image materialised out of nowhere: the man who had ambushed me on our arrival in Mexico, and the fuss he had made about the colour of my hair...

‘What a silly thing. People argue over philosophy and speak of great prophets, but no one ever fusses about hair colour. Skin tone, yes, but hair colour.... never’

I shook my head. Somehow, a side of my mind was convinced I would never understand those people.

Right in that moment, the said Heron, dressed as colourful as ever, was slapping the hand of a seemingly drunken man who was twisting an ivy leaf from the plant of the wall.

“Is he stupid?” John exclaimed, “he’s surely looking for trouble”

As he had foreseen, the drunken colossus didn’t wait a moment to punch the poor, silly, gullible Heron to the ground. Convinced now that we were witnessing the prelude to a brawl, I sprang to my feet and run to help him.

“No!” The man shouted as I got into position to punch the drunken brawler in the face, “don’t do it!”

“What do you suggest, then? Shall we sit and wait for him to break our bones?”

More eyes rose to observe the scene, surely not a good sign considering that it was imperative for us to keep anonymity in town... at least for a while longer.

“Let’s get out of here” John advised wisely as he got between me and my opponent. He offered the latter a golden coin he accepted with bewilderment before dragging the Heron and me out of the tavern.

“Have the two of you lost your minds?” he growled once outside. His gaze was particularly harsh on the stranger he was grabbing by the collar.

“He was tearing ivy from the wall!”

“What the bloody hell should you care about that?” I exclaimed incredulously, “It is just a plant”

“That is the matter! It is not _just a plant_ ” he growled back, shaking his head with evident anger, “plants are life!”

“These people... they are mental” I whispered to John who was equally surprised.

“We are not. If only you could understand....”

For a while we all walked in silence, unsure about the next move. After everything that had happened between our... teams, if they could even be called so, it was everything but safe to walk side by side with someone so unpredictable. However, my mind flashed back to the body of the brave soldier who hang in Rodrigo’s dungeons and my heart softened. After all, these people had uncommon guts and such a quality was anything but useless in our circumstances.

“Tell me something. Why do you call yourselves Herons?” I asked as soon as we reached a semi-deserted road.

“Because of Him. Of our Prophet”

“The ‘Redemptive Heron’” James nodded, quoting the book we had found in the captain’s poach.

“And who is that? A sort of... second Jesus?”

The Heron shook his head and a rather embarrassed smile spread on his face. “We have nothing to do with religion. Our Creed preaches peace among all living creatures, but it is so much more about that...”

“And what about the black hair thing?”

My question arose a rather unexpected reaction: our newly-made friend busted into laughter who took him so strongly that he had to stop to draw a breath.

“I am sorry about that. My colleagues are rather... foolish at times”

Long from having quenched my curiosity, the Heron decided to take matters into his own hands.

“Well, my friends, if you are convinced about infiltrating Mr Costa’s house, I suggest we get to work”

“How...”

We had no idea about how this strange man- who turned out to be called Nestor- came to acknowledge our plans, or why he was so keen on helping us. Even when some time had passed, John and I could not quite figure out where that mysterious figure had come from... and where he had disappeared when it was all over. However, we decided to give him a chance without revealing too much information. So we disguised ourselves as common citizens and we waited for a signal from Haytham and Hope.

* * *

 

“Bloody hell. I had no idea that a meal could last so long” I muttered under my breath. The sky was getting darker and darker as the minutes passed and still there was no sign that that endless lunch (later turned into dinner) would come to an end.  Sure enough, that Costa guy didn’t seem too healthy. He often coughed and I could swear his handkerchiefs were smeared with blood.

Nestor and I had been squatting under a window for hours while waiting for a sign- anything- that would prove that the meeting was proving fruitful. The biggest issue had been keeping quiet the guards assigned to that spot, who now laid gagged at our feet, and make sure that they wouldn’t escape. Our time was coming to an end though, and we were fairly convinced that, since the turns were about to switch, their absence would be notified soon.

“Shall I call John? I wonder if he’s found a way inside”

“No, Shay. Don’t do anything stupid or this whole thing will end up pretty badly for everyone”

As soon as he had pronounced these words, there was finally movement at the dining table as Haytham and La Costa stood up and walked out of the room.

Hope remained sitting in the same spot she had occupied the whole afternoon, with her shoulders turned to us and her usual upright position. Probably she had disguised as Haytham’s wife and was not allowed to follow the discussion, a solution not too congenial for my taste even in such a circumstance. However, it was not the time to get carried away by distractions. I motioned Nestor to keep an eye on her as I began following the two Templars from the outside.

“Shay?” he called me just before I lost sight of him, “beware of the horns”

I had no idea about what he had just said.

 The task proved to be much more arduous than I had imagined as the possessor of the Manuscript guided Haytham through an intricate series of corridors and hidden passages that represented the core of the house itself. In the end, I found myself forced to sneak inside the mansion from an open window in order not to lose sight of my target, wondering: what if this was a mere distraction? What if it was a trap?

I didn’t have enough time to deepen the matter as La Costa suddenly came to a halt, dismissed the guards and asked Haytham to turn his back to him.

“Safety reason, nothing more”

I leaned forward from my already unsafe hideout, hoping to catch a glimpse of the mechanism that the enemy was setting up. He pressed a series of spots on the wall until a small cavity opened. Then he took off a key from his pocket.

Damned Templars.

“Please, come inside”

The last thing I saw was Haytham’s doubtful eyes: he turned around briefly, as if for searching something- maybe someone?- before heading inside the passage and disappear in the darkness.


	22. Manuscript

Haytham’s POV

La Costa’s hideout was articulated on various levels, carved inside the mansion’s very core: it was composed by a series of rooms, beautifully furnished and very well equipped to host a meeting... or hide some hostages. In the end, we reached the bottom floor, a barren and moisten place, hence quite different from the rest of the bureau.  

“After you”

Somewhat reluctantly, I moved forward, taking each step carefully, and suddenly felt deeply ashamed for being so wary of my own affiliate. After all, we both belonged to the same Order and fought for the same aim. Why the doubt, then?

‘These weeks in Assassin’s unhealthy company are not doing me any good’ I thought tiredly as we made our way in a rather barren room, whose only adornment was a small wardrobe... or vault, more likely. As usual, my thoughts focused on finding an alternative escape route, but I saw none.

“I was rather surprised that Reginald sent _you_ to retrieve the precious artefact here in the colonies” my guest said after a time as he took a set of keys from his pocket.

“I am rather competent, that can be assured”

“That is not what I meant. It is just....” his sentence was not finished as he started to cough rather violently, handkerchief readily covering his mouth.

“It is about my father, is it not?”

As I spoke the words, he halted and turned to look at me. “Your father?”

“Edward Kenway. Dwelling here in Spanish Town, I am sure you have heard about his adventures as a pirate, have you not?”

Bewilderment turned into a small, ingratiating smile. “Of course. After all, it was only predictable that you would come across this piece of information”

My lips tightened as he started fumbling with the keys again; this time, though, I could swear he was slowing down his movements with the sole purpose of getting on my nerves. If Hope had been there with me, I could swear that she would have torn the keys from his hands and taken the matter into her own hands. I wondered where she was. Without doubt, she would be taking the alleged ‘rest’ by climbing out of the first window and inspecting the area. It could be a source of trouble, but who could blame her after all? There was nothing more unnerving that waiting in the back line to act.

“Let me help you” I offered La Costa as he still tried to open up the blasted wardrobe.

“No need, my friend” he gestured me to stay still, and in doing so my eyes fell on his shimmering Templar ring. I looked down my own fingers, only to find mine missing. It was sitting in my cabin, closed off somewhere after Ziio’s request. I had never taken it off in over fifteen years.

“Tell me something, Haytham. How did you know that it was me who beheld the Manuscript?”

“I have told you: I was the last one to meet Rodriguez. A few days afterwards, his mansion was raided. No doubt the act was committed by a gang of reckless Assassins who couldn’t even cover their own traces”

“Still, I fear you are withholding something from me. Is it because you are afraid of speaking in front of your companion of travel?”

His slowness was really beginning to get on my nerves now. “Not at all”

“You see... It is not quite so clear to me why you need this manuscript if you are working on something altogether different”

“We are still talking about Precursors, though, and this Manuscript could be fundamental in guiding us through what awaits us once the chamber is opened” I said curtly, wishing the talking to be over.

La Costa finally found the right key. He inserted it in the hole, but eventually halted before opening the lock. “Do you need a passage home once you are done here? As you well know, the Manuscript is beyond value. We wouldn’t want it to fall in the wrong hands, would we?”

A small smile appeared on my lips. “Absolutely. However, I can assure it will be very well looked after”

“I am sure those Assassins wouldn’t want you to get hurt on the way, but you never know”

_Clever bastard_. So he knew all along. Instead of showing my surprise, as he had expected and wished to see, my face remained perfectly still, a part from the tiniest widening of the eyes.

“Not at all”

“Enough of these games, now!” he exclaimed suddenly, fists going up in the air. He did make a pathetic scene.

“Are we playing at all?”

“Don’t try to make a fool out of me, Haytham. You can fool your pathetic new recruits, but not me. Your charm doesn’t work here”

“I wouldn’t expect it to”

For a moment everything stood still, and we kept looking at each other, mutual hatred clear in our eyes as we did so.

“You are a traitor” he finally hissed, shoving the vault closed and turning his complete attention to me.

“I am not. What I have done was merely making an advantageous allegiance to allow us to reach our goal” I said, repeating words I had been rehearsing in my head for the past few weeks.

“Are you seriously? No doubt you think you can moron us like your idiotic father did. No, Haytham. There is too much at stake now”.  His face was contorted in hatred as he spoke, an expression so different from the welcoming grin Adewale had given me while speaking of my long- departed parent.  “Maybe it was that woman’s fault. Too bad you lost your valuable brains to the first harlot you found on your way” he gave out a laugh, but before he could go through with having fun, my hand was at his neck, and he was sent back to the wall, gasping.

“Do not dare” I hissed between grinded teeth.

He kept sniggering, grin showing off his disgusting yellow teeth. “That worries you more than being called the traitor than you are, you fool!”

“I am not a traitor!”

“Really? Well, it will be proven soon enough. Your dear and fatherly Grandmaster is coming here to the colonies just for you, dear sweet Haytham”

I gulped, pretending not to feel anything, trying to shoo away the anxiety and the terrible doubt that was nagging at me ever since the meeting on the Morrigan, at the mention of that name...

“Yes... Reginald Birch is ‘The Tree’. And he is coming just for you” his cough came again, this time. Blood was smeared on my face in a last attempt to manifest his contempt in my regards.

Slowly, I pressed my fingers harder against his neck while my brain contemplated the idea of slowly strangling him. Oh, there was nothing else I’d rather do, but I had to keep my wits about me.

“Where is the Manuscript?”

“Do you even know why the Assassins want it so badly?”

“That is not the point of the matter. It is little more than a bargain”

“There is so much more at stake, and giving up a precious artefact for something else is not something we Templars commonly do. Do you forget why it is that we fight the Assassins?”

“That is not the answer to my question” I urged, the pressure on his neck intensifying. He coughed again, but without giving any sign of surrendering. Was it possible that some guards were on their way? After all, it had been reckless on his behalf to come unaccompanied in such an isolated place and confronted me.

“I won’t tell you anything.I am not afraid of you, boy”

“When is Reginald due to the Colonies?”

“Soon... too soon for you to escape”

“There would be no need for that” I declared finally, releasing my grip on him.

The last thing I wanted was to be deemed a traitor by my own kin, and become their target. After a lifetime’s struggle, becoming a fugitive was the least of my desires. Yes, Reginald had been withdrawing information from me for a long time, but after all didn’t the Assassins have dark  secrets, too? What about the catastrophe they had caused? Was I sure the whole thing was not intentional? For a moment, Shay’s smile flashed in front of my face, and I remembered his welcoming ways towards me. Could he have been lying to me the whole time?

 “Tell me, Haytham...What do you intend to do once all of this is over? Do you seriously believe that you can go back to the old way?”

* * *

“I cannot bloody believe that there is nothing we can do” I growled for the tenth time, pacing to and fro in the tiny corridor. Due to Haytham’s prolonged absence, we had been forced to leave La Costa’s garden and disappear in a nearby alleyway before someone noticed that a few guards had been knocked unconscious. Either way, no one had rang the alarm. Not yet.

“Calm down, Shay. If Hope is with him, he surely won’t betray us”

“It is not about betrayal. It is about time running short. Someone might recognise us, and I’d like to remind you that Hope is still inside”

“Calm down, you two”. Nestor’s quiet voice was the only sign of his presence as he sat still on the floor. “They will be all right”

“And how would you know?” James moved in front of him, inspecting his features intently “you do seem to know more than us... more than anyone really”

“That is true. I do”  
“Then enlighten us” I sighed, patience running out, “What are you and your kind up to?”  
“You are more clever than you think, black-haired boy” he smiled, standing up to meet my eyes, “I do belong to another kind. As does the Manuscript” Both us Assassins flinched at the mention of that name.

“You... know?”  
“Of course I do. That is where my brothers and I came from. Do you think the only power the Manuscript has is linked to something evil and dangerous? No. You have suffered a great deal, Shay, because of us. And now here we are, trying to repay you for your suffering”

During his speech, my body had remained still, almost petrified. It seemed like Nestor’s words were supposed to make sense, but their meaning was too great to grasp. “What-“ I exchanged a look with my comrade, who seemed very focused. Before any of us could add anything else, a noise drew our attention. The gates were opening.

“I must away” the Heron whispered, suddenly seizing my arm. “Listen to me carefully, Shay. Trust your judgment... and beware of the horn”

Being busy as I was to follow Haytham and Hope’s movements outside La Costa’s manor, it took me a couple of seconds before turning towards him.

“Horn?”  
But then, he was already gone.

* * *

It took us some time before deciding that it was the right moment to join our companions on our way back to the Morrigan,

“How did it go?”

“Go back undercover, Shay. We are not quite as far from danger as you think we are” Hope whispered to me, and in the brief moments our eyes met I sensed fear in her gaze. Very unlikely of her

“Do you have the Manuscript?” James urged.

“We do” Haytham replied curtly, pace getting even faster, “but now we need to get back and hoist anchor without wasting a moment”

Relief flooded through me. Finally, our journey was coming to a close. Sure, there were many matters left unsolved and Nestor’s words had left my mind unsettled, but at least we would soon be done with the dangerous travelling around.

However, what I did not expect was Haytham’s resistance in showing us the Manuscript once on board.

We had all gathered around the round table in my room, and even though the meeting had started off pretty well, chaos broke out when it was Haytham’s turn to speak.   
“I will tell you everything, and recount that bastard’s death. However.... the Manuscript has to wait”

“Why?”

“As a last wish, I promised La Costa to handle it to your Mentor’s hand personally”

“To kill him on sight, no doubt” John exclaimed, furious.

“Not at all. I have a message to carry out for him, and I must be sure to deliver it personally”

“Are you asking us to bring you to the Homestead?” I blurted out, surprise overtaking me. “We can’t do that”

“Why not?” Haytham turned to face me, his expression unreadable “you have brought me to Adewale, showed me things no Templar has ever seen. I could have fled with such information and compromise you, but I did not”

“Haytham...” Hope began, shaking her head lightly, “the Homestead is not just our home, but it is the core of our Brotherhood, which is in direct opposition with your new Colonial Order. It is too much of a risk because you are involved personally”

“What do you suggest, then?”

Finally, it was James to take a step forward.

“Hand it over” he said calmly.

“What? Have you not heard-“

“Let me feel it”

Cautiously, Haytham left the package containing the artefact in his hands. Our friend analysed it carefully, weighting it and feeling the dimension of the pages.

For a moment, I read doubt in his eyes. Then, he raised his head and declared: “This is what we are looking for”

We had implicitly decided to trust Haytham. 


End file.
